COLOMBO - Marlon Samuels struck a crucial half-century to lead West Indies to the ICC World Twenty20 trophy after a 36-run win over Sri Lanka in the final at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.
ICC World Twenty20 final
SundayWest Indies 137-6 beat Sri Lanka 101 all out (18.4 overs) by 36 runsCOLOMBO - Marlon Samuels struck a crucial half-century to lead West Indies to the ICC World Twenty20 trophy after a 36-run win over Sri Lanka in the final at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.Samuels blasted his way to 78 off 56 balls with three fours and six sixes, a vital contribution in a low scoring match, as West Indies posted 137 for six with spinner Ajantha Mendis claiming 4-12 off four overs.Sri Lanka never looked in the hunt with the bat as they collapsed to 101 all out in 18.4 overs with off-spinner Sunil Narine picking up 3-9 off 3.4 overs.The fact that West Indies were even able to get to their final total was something of a triumph after they had battled their way to 32 for two after 10 overs.West Indies won the toss and elected to bat on a slow pitch but they were tied down by some wonderful bowling from Sri Lanka with the bowlers hardly bowling a bad ball during the opening exchanges.The men from the Caribbean stumbled to 14 for two in the sixth over with Johnson Charles (0) and Chris Gayle (3) both out cheaply.Agencies