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AND THE CHAMPION IS….


The final tussle in the bid to be called the World T-20 championship 2016 has come down to two teams, England and West Indies. And it’s no secret that they have also been the most consistent and balanced side of the tournament which started with ten teams (top eight seeds and two qualifiers.) But before progressing forward let’s have a word about the defeated semifinalists. New Zealand; they are still the perpetual bridesmaids (why persist with pace? and hold Santner, your best bowler of the tournament and allow the opposition to get settled) and India; is still a one man team previously it used to be Sachin Tendulkar and now it is Virat Kohli (some might not agree with the statement.) 

The all important final going to be held at Eden Garden, Kolkata will have two opponents that have grown throughout the tournament. The West Indies’s tenacity of bouncing back after the humiliating loss to Afghanistan (their last group match) to beat the host and much favored India (two no ball or not, Virat also got a number of lives) in the semis and likewise the way England side came back to win all their matches after suffering from a Chris Gayle storm in their opening outing. Come 3rd of April it will be interesting to see whether that mauling by Chris Gayle has an effect on the English bowlers, keeping in mind that Gayle has not fired after that hundred. Another important aspect will be the team’s non reliance only on their star batsman, Joe Root for England and Chris Gayle for West Indies. As both batting orders have shown that they are quite capable of withstanding pressure and bringing the prize themselves, like Jason Roy and Lendl Simmons have ably demonstrated in their team’s respective semifinal wins. There are other talented batsmen on either side with the like of Buttler, Morgan, Johnson Charles and Samuels very much capable to becoming the hero. Both the teams possess good arsenal of spin bowling which even out with leg-spinners Rashid and Badree, ably assisted by Ali and Benn. There is a marked difference with their pace bowling while England rely upon the swing of Willey, yorker bowling capability of Jordan and pace of Ben Stokes, on the other hand West Indies only employ one genuine fast bowler Russell and use the line and length of Brathwaite. Having said that, the presence of Dwayne Bravo with his slow cutter and IPL experience tilts the balance in West Indies favour. It will be interesting to see whether the rich IPL experience gives West Indies players edge in overcoming the English who only Morgan, their captain with any IPL experience.    

We have two teams that cancel out each other’s pluses and negatives, so as audience one can  only hopes that they bring their A game to the table. Whoever becomes the winner? Is anybodies guess. Nonetheless it will be world cricket that become richer, as by the end of the match cricket may have re-found the sleeping giants West Indies or are seeing the rise of the new and exciting English side that has shed away their boring and traditional cricket tag.


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