The World Twenty20 in 2015-16

1 West Indies 2 England 3= India, New Zealand
For a previous generation of English cricketers, Eden Gardens in Kolkata meant the heartbreak of a World Cup final loss that turned on Mike Gatting's reverse sweep. Nearly three decades later, redemption appeared at hand: few expected West Indies to score 19 from the last over, not when the bowler was Ben Stokes, one of the competition's best operators at the death. And, while Marlon Samuels had batted well, he was now stranded at the non-striker's end. His partner, by contrast, was relatively unknown.

Before this game, Carlos Brathwaite had faced just 18 balls in the tournament. Delhi Daredevils had stumped up Rs42m (around £440,000) a month before the start of the World Twenty20, but his most eye-catching contribution in India had come during a warm-up game, also at Eden Gardens, where he smashed 33 from 14 balls to stun Australia. That was on March 13. Three weeks later, the stakes were infinitely higher. The harsher critics will say that - faced with such a powerful hitter - Stokes bowled it in the slot; the more charitable will argue he did little wrong. Either way, by the time Brathwaite was hitting his fourth successive six, TV commentator Ian Bishop was yelling: "Carlos Brathwaite! Carlos Brathwaite! Remember the name!"

Thousands inside the ground, and millions watching at home, were unlikely to forget it. It was a climax the tournament deserved, despite a slow-burn start in Nagpur and, in the Himalayan foothills, Dharamsala. And it said much about sport's capacity to provide its own twists that the victors were a team who had briefly considered pulling out of the tournament, and who, on arrival in India, had no properly printed shirts. The West Indians had been engaged in a pay dispute with their board, whose president, Dave Cameron, was the subject of strong criticism from captain Darren Sammy at the post-match presentation. Sammy claimed his team had received a good luck message from the prime minister of Grenada but not from Cameron. The West Indies Cricket Board called Sammy's comments "inappropriate". (Four months later, he was replaced by Brathwaite.) Meanwhile, it emerged that a throwaway line in a pre-tournament column had also stoked their competitive fires. "West Indies are short of brains," wrote Mark Nicholas on ESPNcricinfo, "but have IPL history in their ranks." Sammy chose the eve of the final to air his disgust: "How could you describe people with no brains? Even animals have brains. We're not an object.

That comment really set us off." The final itself had plenty of needle, with West Indies' "Champion" celebrations - a dance deriving from a song of the same name written by allrounder Dwayne Bravo - irking Joe Root; David Willey struck a sore nerve when he reprised the dance steps with England in the ascendancy. But it was the resumption of hostilities between Samuels and Stokes, who had clashed during England's tour of the Caribbean a year earlier, that proved ugliest. With victory almost assured after Brathwaite's third six, Samuels celebrated wildly in Stokes's face. Within an hour he was addressing a press conference with padded legs and booted feet on the table in front of him.

A gracious victory it was not. Three weeks later, the ICC reprimanded the West Indians, saying "certain comments and actions were inappropriate, disrespectful and brought the event into disrepute". None of this could obscure the fact that the best teams had reached the final. West Indies, with Chris Gayle rampaging to a 47-ball century (his only real contribution of the competition), had swatted England aside in their opening group game, and followed up with victories over Sri Lanka and South Africa.

In the semi-final they were too powerful for India: Lendl Simmons broke hearts at the Wankhede not long after arriving in the country following an injury to Andre Fletcher, and there was a brutal cameo from Andre Russell as India's bowlers failed to back up Virat Kohli. Throughout, the 35-year-old Trinidadian leg-spinner Samuel Badree was outstanding, claiming nine wickets at 13 and conceding just 5.39 runs an over, a figure bettered among regular bowlers only by two other leggies - Sri Lanka's Jeffrey Vandersay (5.16) and South Africa's Imran Tahir (5.18). England, despite a lack of IPL stars, had rebounded memorably from their early chastisement at the hands of Gayle, though midway through their game against South Africa, who had made 229, they appeared to be on their way out.

But, after Jason Roy bludgeoned the new ball, Joe Root inspired England with an innings that underlined what Kohli was proving on a regular basis: orthodoxy does have a place in Twenty20 cricket - and it can be lethal. South Africa never quite recovered. Unconvincing in seeing off Afghanistan, they succumbed to West Indies on a tricky surface in Nagpur. Victory against a Sri Lankan side who had plummeted down the rankings since winning the tournament in 2014 was no more than a band-aid. Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan, just about, but did little else. With Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene gone, and captain Lasith Malinga pulling out with a knee injury, these were tough times.

Angelo Mathews played a magnificent hand against England, but couldn't paper over flimsy displays from the top order. Flying the flag for the Associates were Afghanistan. Having run Sri Lanka, South Africa and England close, they saved their best for the eventual champions. On a Nagpur pitch where the ball gripped, turned and occasionally spat, Mohammad Nabi's off-spin, Rashid Khan's leg-spin and Hamza Hotak's slow left-arm trickery were too much for West Indies - not that defeat stopped Gayle posing for a selfie with the delirious victors. The Afghans' competition had begun a good week before the rest, with a mini-qualifying round in Nagpur. They edged past Scotland, hammered Hong Kong, then - in the decider - routed Zimbabwe. For the Zimbabweans it was another reminder of their downward spiral since part-hosting the 50-over World Cup in 2003.

Scotland had fallen repeatedly at ICC events. But, after 19 consecutive defeats, came a victory to savour, against Hong Kong. The Scots also made headlines when captain Preston Mommsen questioned a format in which teams had to qualify twice for the main event - once in Ireland and Scotland in 2015, and again here. He was echoed by Peter Borren of the Netherlands, who were eliminated after a narrow defeat by Bangladesh and a washout against Oman. "It's a pretty emotional dressing-room," he said.

"We sit here now after playing three hours of cricket against Bangladesh." A cameo from the 37-year-old Karachi-born Aamer Ali helped new boys Oman shock Ireland, who finished without a win and were left to rue a lack of batting oomph and dreadfully wayward bowling. Bangladesh topped that group with no great fuss, and more was expected of them in the main draw. But they started sloppily against Pakistan, were edged out by Australia and - traumatically - by India, and thrashed by New Zealand. In left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman they had one of the most skilful bowlers on show, but the rest failed to build on the gains made at the 2015 World Cup. Their low point was India's great escape in Bangalore. A loss would have sent the hosts through the trap door, and - with two runs needed from Hardik Pandya's final three balls - Bangladesh were well placed to open it. But Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, an experienced pair, suffered momentary lapses of reason. When tap-and-run would have been enough, both went for glory over midwicket - and both were caught in the deep. When M. S. Dhoni sprinted to the stumps to run out Mustafizur, denying Bangladesh a bye and a tie, India had sneaked home by a run. It was the most galling of chokes, and compounded the Bangladeshis' sense of injustice after two bowlers - seamer Taskin Ahmed and left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny - had been banned mid-tournament because of illegal actions.

That was one of three group games which India played with no margin for error, following a shellacking by New Zealand, whose spin trio of Nathan McCullum, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi bowled them out for 79. Their next match had already been the subject of drama, as if India v Pakistan didn't already offer enough. Less than a fortnight earlier, the local Himachal Pradesh government had announced their reluctance to host the game in Dharamsala, in solidarity with the victims of a terror attack at the start of the year in Pathankot, just across the state border in Punjab. This extended to a reluctance to provide enough security to satisfy the Pakistani delegation. The ICC were incensed, and the BCCI - whose then secretary, Anurag Thakur, hails from Himachal Pradesh - were embarrassed. As a result, the entire caravanserai moved 1,000 miles east, to Eden Gardens. Once the game got under way, a perfectly paced half-century from Kohli had Sachin Tendulkar on his feet in the stands, and gave India their 11th win over their neighbours in 11 World Cup and World Twenty20 matches.

Not for the first time, Pakistan finished a global event in turmoil. Shahid Afridi's leadership was uninspiring, the batting little better; even the vaunted bowlers didn't produce the goods. Back home, debate raged about the effects of always playing on foreign soil, but word from within and outside the camp focused on poor fitness and a questionable work ethic. Afridi stepped down as Twenty20 captain, while Waqar Younis resigned as coach, having criticised Afridi's captaincy in a report inevitably leaked to the media. New Zealand won every group match, including a close one against Australia, and earned respect for a brave selection policy based around their spinners: their established new-ball pair of Trent Boult and Tim Southee did not get a game. But, on a Delhi surface that favoured back-of-a-length seam bowling, they came a cropper in the semi-final against an England side who had played their previous two group games there. By contrast New Zealand, whose five matches took place at five different venues, were again left to reflect on their failure to win the big moments: nine World Cup semi-finals across the two limited-overs formats had now produced eight defeats.

Australia never got their combination right. David Warner, one of the most feared openers in the game, batted at No. 3 or 4. Usman Khawaja played some delightful cameos, but on their own they do not win tournaments, even in Twenty20. The young leg-spinner Adam Zampa, who went on to have a stunning IPL, was not fully trusted, and the lack of a coherent strategy cost the Australians dear in the winner-takes-all group match against India. Zampa bowled two overs for 11, and wasn't seen again; James Faulkner and Josh Hazlewood were given a pasting by Kohli.

Again, it was almost a one-man show: the next-highest score after Kohli's imperious unbeaten 82 was 21. He would play even better in the semi-final against West Indies, but - crucially, perhaps - India batted first in that game, when Kohli's great skill lay in his ability to gauge a chase. By the end of the competition, his record in successful Twenty20 international run-chases was staggering: 15 innings, nine undefeated, and an average of 122. So it felt incongruous that his outstanding tournament - he was dismissed only twice while scoring 273 runs - should end with his conceding the winning hit, as Russell belted a six over midwicket.

Until then, Dhoni's calmness under pressure had been impressive, especially against Bangladesh, but his lack of faith in Ravichandran Ashwin, his main spinner, was mystifying. Against West Indies, Pandya's four overs went for 43, yet - against batsmen who preferred seam - Ashwin bowled only two. Having retired from the Test side, and seen Kohli rejuvenate it, Dhoni may have wondered whether he would soon be stepping aside in the shorter formats too. If he struggled to find the big shots that once came so easily, then he was not the only Indian batsman to slip below par: Rohit Sharma averaged 17, while Yuvraj Singh appeared to be playing from memory; Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina had a wretched time. For Kohli, a second successive World Twenty20 Man of the Tournament award was scant consolation.

Off the field, too, things could have been so much better for the hosts. The BCCI delayed naming the venues until December, which despite fingerpointing at the ICC made them chiefly responsible for the ensuing ticketing fiasco: there was no concrete information until late February, a fortnight before the first qualifying game. In Nagpur, tickets were sold at the old stadium in the heart of the city: fans arriving at the new one, ten miles away on the outskirts, couldn't buy any over the counter. Crowds spoiled by the razzmatazz and stardust of the IPL were also reluctant to attend matches not involving India, and many were played in front of echoing stands. Intense early-summer heat didn't help.

The knockout games were a different story, partly because the quality of the cricket was so high. And, even when India missed out on the final, the Kolkata crowd offered no shortage of decibels. Their mood ebbed and flowed like the game itself. At times, they cheered for England. But, mostly, the wall of sound was in favour of West Indies, historically the Indian fan's second team. By the time Brathwaite teed off, bedlam had descended. Stokes, on his haunches in despair in the middle of one of the sport's great venues, must have felt like a gladiator in the Colosseum. It was one of the enduring images of the tournament - Stokes consoled by his team-mates and watched by thousands, yet so very alone. Somewhere, Mike Gatting must have winced in sympathy.

Match reports for

1st Match, First Round Group B: Hong Kong v Zimbabwe at Nagpur, Mar 8, 2016
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2nd Match, First Round Group B: Afghanistan v Scotland at Nagpur, Mar 8, 2016
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3rd Match, First Round Group A: Bangladesh v Netherlands at Dharamsala, Mar 9, 2016
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4th Match, First Round Group A: Ireland v Oman at Dharamsala, Mar 9, 2016
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5th Match, First Round Group B: Scotland v Zimbabwe at Nagpur, Mar 10, 2016
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6th Match, First Round Group B: Afghanistan v Hong Kong at Nagpur, Mar 10, 2016
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7th Match, First Round Group A: Netherlands v Oman at Dharamsala, Mar 11, 2016
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8th Match, First Round Group A: Bangladesh v Ireland at Dharamsala, Mar 11, 2016
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9th Match, First Round Group B: Afghanistan v Zimbabwe at Nagpur, Mar 12, 2016
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10th Match, First Round Group B: Hong Kong v Scotland at Nagpur, Mar 12, 2016
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11th Match, First Round Group A: Ireland v Netherlands at Dharamsala, Mar 13, 2016
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12th Match, First Round Group A: Bangladesh v Oman at Dharamsala, Mar 13, 2016
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13th Match, Super 10 Group 2: India v New Zealand at Nagpur, Mar 15, 2016
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14th Match, Super 10 Group 2: Bangladesh v Pakistan at Eden Gardens, Mar 16, 2016
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15th Match, Super 10 Group 1: England v West Indies at Wankhede, Mar 16, 2016
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16th Match, Super 10 Group 1: Afghanistan v Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens, Mar 17, 2016
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17th Match, Super 10 Group 2: Australia v New Zealand at Dharamsala, Mar 18, 2016
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18th Match, Super 10 Group 1: England v South Africa at Wankhede, Mar 18, 2016
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19th Match, Super 10 Group 2: India v Pakistan at Eden Gardens, Mar 19, 2016
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20th Match, Super 10 Group 1: Afghanistan v South Africa at Wankhede, Mar 20, 2016
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21st Match, Super 10 Group 1: Sri Lanka v West Indies at Bengaluru, Mar 20, 2016
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22nd Match, Super 10 Group 2: Australia v Bangladesh at Bengaluru, Mar 21, 2016
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23rd Match, Super 10 Group 2: New Zealand v Pakistan at Mohali, Mar 22, 2016
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24th Match, Super 10 Group 1: Afghanistan v England at Delhi, Mar 23, 2016
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25th Match, Super 10 Group 2: India v Bangladesh at Bengaluru, Mar 23, 2016
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26th Match, Super 10 Group 2: Australia v Pakistan at Mohali, Mar 25, 2016
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27th Match, Super 10 Group 1: South Africa v West Indies at Nagpur, Mar 25, 2016
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28th Match, Super 10 Group 2: Bangladesh v New Zealand at Eden Gardens, Mar 26, 2016
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29th Match, Super 10 Group 1: England v Sri Lanka at Delhi, Mar 26, 2016
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30th Match, Super 10 Group 1: Afghanistan v West Indies at Nagpur, Mar 27, 2016
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31st Match, Super 10 Group 2: India v Australia at Mohali, Mar 27, 2016
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32nd Match, Super 10 Group 1: South Africa v Sri Lanka at Delhi, Mar 28, 2016
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1st Semi-Final: England v New Zealand at Delhi, Mar 30, 2016
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2nd Semi-Final: India v West Indies at Wankhede, Mar 31, 2016
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Final: England v West Indies at Eden Gardens, Apr 3, 2016
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