Carlos Brathwaite hit four astonishing sixes off the first four deliveries of the final over to push West Indies to an extraordinary four-wicket victory over England on Sunday.
With West Indies requiring a difficult 19 from the final over in pursuit of 156 for victory at Eden Gardens, the right-handed Brathwaite cleared the ropes four times in succession off seamer Ben Stokes to hand West Indies a spectacular victory with two balls to spare.
Brathwaite finished on 34 not out from just 10 deliveries, but it was veteran right-hander Marlon Samuels, who stroked an unbeaten 85 from 66 balls, who was the architect of the victory.
The Jamaican, adjudged Man-of-the-Match, smashed nine fours and two sixes, anchoring two crucial stands — first with Dwayne Bravo (24) and then with Brathwaite — to pull West Indies around from 11 for three in the third over.
Samuels and Bravo came together to steady the innings, which guided West Indies to 54 without further loss at the halfway point in the innings.
Bravo, dropped on 11 by substitute Sam Billings off Stokes in the 13th over, recovered to belt leg-spinner Adil Rashid over midwicket for six in the next over before top-edging the final ball to Root at point at 86 for four.
Samuels, on 50 at the time, then blasted a four and two successive sixes off seamer Liam Plunkett in an over that gushed 18 runs, but England struck back to claim two wickets for just 21 runs in the space of nine balls to leave the Windies tottering 107 for six in the 16th over.
Following the win, captain Darren Sammy said, “I want to thank the Almighty because without him nothing is possible. We have a pastor in the team in Andre Fletcher — he keeps on praying. We are a praying team. I’m really happy for this win and it’s something we are going to cherish for a long time.”
