Darren Sammy’s West Indies were crowned the new World Twenty20 champions on Sunday after a 36-run victory over hosts Sri Lanka in a dramatic final in Colombo on Sunday.
The West Indies, restricted to 137-6 after electing to bat, hit back to bowl Sri Lanka out for 101 and silence a sell-out crowd of 35,000 at the Premadasa stadium that included President Mahinda Rajapakse.
It was the first world title for the West Indies since the 50-over World Cup triumph under Clive Lloyd in 1979, and handed Sri Lanka their fourth defeat in a major final since 2007.
Spinner Sunil Narine grabbed three wickets for nine runs and Sammy took two as the hosts, who had excelled in the field in the first session, undid the good work with irresponsible batting in the second.
Skipper Mahela Jayawardene survived two dropped catches to top-score with 33, while tailender Nuwan Kulasekara hit 26 off 13 balls, including three fours and a six in the 16th over of seamer Ravi Rampaul.
Sri Lanka’s unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis had taken four wickets for 12 runs as the West Indies collapsed once Chris Gayle was removed in the sixth over for only three runs.