The men’s final in World Twenty20 came down to England and West Indies with WI winning by four wickets.
The Windies won with two balls to spare when Carlos Brathwaite produced a remarkable four sixes in a row.
Against England bowler Ben Stokes, who had led England past Sri Lanka in the semifinal, Braithwaite hit three consecutive balls over. Needing just one run from the next three balls, he finished England with a midwicket clearing shot.
Over on the ladies’ side, WI denied Australia from winning its fourth consecutive World Twenty20 in Kolkata. The Southern Stars put 149 on the board, which should have put WI at a severe disadvantage, but rather than being intimidated, WI responded with Stafani Taylor and Hayley Matthews nearly blowing the Australian bowlers of the pitch.
A mental error by fielder Megan Schutt with three balls remaining, when the Stars could have put the pressure on the Indies, resulted in an overthrow that sufficed to see the Windies home.
Australia still had a chance to go over 160, but they were limited to one run by Deandra Dottin.
The Australian women had not been beaten since 2010 and Windies’ openers Matthews and Taylor clearly demonstrated that power batting that clears the fences will permit chasing down big totals.
