Hosted by India, the sixth edition of the men's T20 World Cup proved to be one of the most iconic white-ball cricket contests in the tournament's young history, featuring multiple high-scoring games and numerous other matches where the victory margin was less than 15 runs.
If you're a thrill seeker, then reliving this World Cup is where it's at, especially the final. Commentator Ian Bishop's famous bellowing cry of “Carlos Brathwaite, remember the name!” can still be heard as the West Indian all-rounder pumped four consecutive sixes in the final over to secure a famous and unexpected victory for the Caribbean region.
With Australia getting ready to host the eighth men's T20 World cup in October, let's take a trip down memory to relive why the shortest format of the game continues to capture the imagination and excitement of cricket fans all around the world.
Here are the top five matches from the men's 2016 T20 World Cup.
1. Brathwaite and Samuels Do It All Again – This Time As World Cup Champions
Prior to this game, both the West Indies and England had previously tasted T20 World Cup final winning success, and so most of the players in either side were well accustomed to knowing what it takes to claim the coveted trophy.
Although the West Indies had obliterated England once in the Super 10 phase of the tournament, Joe Root and his defiant team were keen to put that haunting loss behind them, but their wobbly start suggested otherwise.
England were teetering at three for 23, before Joe Root and Ben Stokes combined forces to lift their side to 155. Ducks from danger man Jason Roy and Moeen Ali showed that some of that World Cup final pressure was getting to England, but Joe Root's composed half-century ensured that his team remained competitive. Veteran pace bowling all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite were the picks of the West Indies bowlers, taking three wickets apiece.
In reply the West Indies run-chase also had a wobbly start, with Chris Gayle back in the shed cheaply as the score stood at just three for 11. You should have heard how vociferously England screamed when they dismissed Gayle, who fell innocuously to the part-time off-spin of Joe Root. Marlon Samuels was still at the crease then, and all he had for company was Dwayne Bravo and later on Carlos Brathwaite as their other seasoned hitters were also dismissed quickly for not very many.
A vital 75-run partnership between Samuels and Bravo quickly turned the momentum back the West Indies way, but when the latter departed at the end of the fourteenth over, England began to believe. When the dangerous Andre Russel and captain Daren Sammy also went out inside the same David Willey over, the match was poised on a knife-edge.
Enter Carlos Brathwaite. The big Barbadian had showed glimpses of his obvious hitting talent throughout the tournament, but tonight would be his night. In the final over, the West Indies required a daunting 19 runs to win with Stokes to bowl it. Brathwaite wasted no time at all and did the unthinkable, hitting four consecutive sixes to give the West Indies their second World T20 title in the most characteristically Caribbean way possible.
Carlos Brathwaite. Remember the name.
