On this day in 2012: West Indies lift their maiden T20 World Cup title

The West Indies hold a unique record in international cricket which not even the multiple-time world champions Australia can boast of. They won the first two editions of the ODI World Cup in 1975 and 1979 and are the only team to date to win the T20 World Cup twice. Coincidentally, Daren Sammy was the captain on both occasions.

Meanwhile, it was on this very day exactly a decade ago that the Windies beat the hosts and favourites Sri Lanka to lift their maiden title.

When West Indies stunned Sri Lanka in their own backyard

Sri Lanka faced West Indies in the summit clash at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The Lankans were coming into this contest on the back of a spectacular win over Pakistan in the first semi-final while the Windies had decimated Australia in the second semis.

Batting first, the Caribbeans were in a spot of bother after losing big hitters Chris Gayle and Johnson Charles cheaply and were reduced to 14/2 inside the Powerplay. Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Bravo then carried out the rescue act by adding 59 runs for the third wicket.

Samuels was the star for the Windies as he scored 78 runs off 56 deliveries. Skipper Daren Sammy’s unbeaten 15-ball 26 towards the end helped the Caribbeans post a respectable total of 137/6.

Mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis was the pick of the bowlers for the Lankans finishing with figures of 4/12 from his four overs at an economy of three.

In reply, Sri Lanka lost opener Tillakaratne Dilshan early before a 42-run second wicket stand by veterans Mahela Jayawardene (33) and Kumar Sangakkara (22) stabilized the Lankan innings.

Unfortunately for the hosts, once the duo was dismissed, they completely lost the plot from thereon and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Nonetheless, lower-order batter Nuwan Kulasekara did not wish to go down without a fight and waged a lone battle with a cameo knock of a 13-ball 26 at a strike rate of 200.

But, with the asking rate getting steeper, and no support from the other end, a victory was already a foregone conclusion for the West Indies and they completed the formalities in the penultimate over by skittling out the Lankans for just 101 runs.

Thus, with an emphatic 36-run victory, the West Indies lifted their maiden T20 World Cup crown.