2016 T20 World Cup Final: England vs West Indies

England and West Indies will clash for the title of 2016 ICC World T20 Champions at Kolkata on April 3. There is no doubt that whoever wins on the day would be a worthy winner, having come this long with some brilliant performances.

While England surprised even their own country with a commanding performance to oust pace-setters New Zealand, West Indies found the right balance of power and precision to silence the vocal local crowd and dump India. With the stage set for the final, it is now left to one more performance worthy of this grand stage.
A look at the West Indies side would reveal the extent of T20 experience they possess. That is definitely helping them, as was evident through the effort of Lendl Simmons in the semi-final. With Chris Gayle at the top, and hard hitters like Andre Russell and Dwayne Bravo in the middle order, this is one side that is never short of excitement.

There are still question marks on the ability of the Windies’ middle order to survive an initial collapse, but the presence of Simmons gives them a settled look. With the ball, the stifling spin of Samuel Badree and Suleiman Benn gives them an edge.

Any tournament which pits England in the finals needs a bit of introspection on the quality of other sides – but perhaps not this one. This is a refreshingly different England team that has played a brand of cricket worthy of the format and worthy of its tag as a pioneer of T20. At last, they decided to move above their petulant habit of bottling up the skills in a goofed-up effort to maximize the results.

In any England side of the old, Jason Roy’s dynamism at the top or Ben Stokes exuberance on the pitch would have been an exception. In Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler and Alex Hales, the English have three of the best T20 exponents in their line-up. And we haven’t yet spoken about Joe Root! Surely, this must be their best chance to win another world crown.

Marlon Samuels loves challenges and taking the game to the opposition.

Back him to be the Windies’ best batsman at odds of $6.

Bet: Marlon Samuels to top West Indies’ batting – $6 at Sportsbet

For England, Root looks set to lead their title charge at odds of $3.75.

Bet: Joe Root to top England’s batting – $3.75 a Sportsbet

In regard to who will win the final, England could end up upsetting many calculations and emerge victorious at odds of $1.91.

Bet: England to win the T20 World Cup Final – $1.91 at Sportsbet

Both the sides have dangerous T20 exponents which should make this match interesting. The first multiple World Champion in ODI cricket was West Indies – can they repeat it in T20s? Or will the never-won-ODI-World-Cup England grab that mantle? Sunday promises to be an exciting finale!