Its all over and the Calypso Kings, the lords of the 70s and 80s, the Gangnam Gang, the West Indies reign supreme once again!

Everyone loves an underdog story, but remarkably there were many people this time who had called a West Indies win before the World T20 started. I was witness to two such calls by friends.

The argument was that any team with the likes of Gayle, Pollard, Bravo, Russell, Smith, and Samuels, all of whom are brilliant in T20s and have demonstrated their prowess in T20 leagues around the world, stands a very good chance of winning the tournament.

The argument prevailed. And how!

Despite these few people who called it right, the story of the West Indies winning this World T20 will remain one of the underdogs, the dark horses upsetting the major powers and lifting a world championship trophy.

Almost everyone, barring the Sri Lankans ofcourse, were rooting for the West Indies only to see them break into the Gangnam style dance moves that have become even more popular thanks to Chris Gayle & Co.

I'm sure that even the Sri Lankans could not help bring on a smile when the entire Caribbean unit broke into those celebrations.

They were simply awesome!


So the West Indies sit on top of the world once again, winning a world cup trophy after 33 years (not counting the Champions Trophy triumph in 2004).

What is the most interesting aspect of this victory is that there have been three occasions when a host nation has reached a final of a World Tournament and lost it - England in the ODI World Cup in 1979, England in the Champins Trophy in 2004, and Sri Lanka in the World T20 in 2012 - on each of these occasions the party poopers were the West Indies!

But I can't help feel sorry for the Sri Lankans who lost their 4th final in the last 5 years. Making it to the final of two ODI World Cups and two World T20 tournaments in 5 years is a phenomenal achievement, but not winning a single one of them must hurt badly.

Here are some more highlights and interesting facts from the 2012 edition of the World T20:

1. West Indies became the third team after India and Pakistan to win both the ODI World Cup and the World T20. They now have 3 world cup trophies (2 ODI, 1 T20), equal to India's, and one less than Australia's 4 (all ODI).
2. In 2007 India qualified for the Super 8s without winning a single match. In 2010 England qualified for the Super 8s without winning a single match. In 2012 West Indies qualified for the Super 8s without winning a single match. All three went on to win the World T20.
3. The hosts of the 2009 World T20 won it in 2010. The hosts of the 2010 World T20 won it in 2012. Will it finally be Sri Lanka's chance in 2014?
4. None of the WT20 winning squad of the West Indies were born when the West Indies last won the World Cup in 1979.
5. West Indies was the only team to score 200 during this World T20, and they were also the team that scored the lowest number of runs in the first 10 overs - 32 in the final. Their 32-2 in 10 overs was also the 4th lowest total ever at the end of 10 overs in all T20 Internationals.
6. India had the best win:loss ratio among all teams in the World T20. They lost only 1 game in the entire tournament, 1 less than the eventual champions and runners up.
7. Chris Gayle topped the sixes chart in the tournament hitting a total of 16. Shane Watson and Marlon Samuels hit 15 each, while Luke Wright hit 13. Each one of them hit more sixes than the entire Indian team that managed 12 between them in 5 matches.
8. Besides Afridi, the two Pakistan cricketers that have been criticized the most are Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Nazir. People don't realize that both Hafeez and Nazir were among the leading run scorers of the tournament and the top two run scorers for Pakistan.
9. Imran Nazir also has the 3rd highest strike rate among batsmen who scored at least 150 runs in the tournament. Nazir's SR of 150 equaled that of Shane Watson and Chris Gayle.
10. The highest run scorer for South Africa was JP Duminy with 106 runs in 5 matches. Brendon McCullum scored more than that in just 1 of his innings.
11. Marlon Samuels 78 is the highest score in a World T20 final, surpassing the 75 scored by Gambhir in 2007.
12. Ajantha Mendis' 15 wickets in this World T20 is the highest number of wickets ever taken in a WT20 tournament, surpassing Dirk Nannes effort of 14 in 2010.
13. Only two bowlers (with at least 5 wickets) averaged less than 10 with the ball - Ajantha Mendis and Balaji! Yes Laxmipathy Balaji from India!
14. Jacques Kallis picked up more wickets than Steyn and Morkel in this tournament.
15. Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul, who are the joint 2nd highest wicket takers in T20 Internationals, managed only 7 wickets between them in the World T20.
16. Ajantha Mendis' 4-12 is the best figures in a World T20 final, surpassing the 3-16 by Irfan Pathan, also in 2007. Mendis' figures of 4-12 are also the best figures by a bowler in a losing cause in all T20 internationals.
17. Dale Steyn and Raza Hasan were the only two bowlers (min: 5 overs) with an economy rate of less than 5.
18. In a total of 11 overs in the World T20, Xavier Doherty did not concede a single four. However, he conceded the most number of sixes - 9.

With these teams in Group F of the ICC World Twenty20, it looks a lot more weaker than Group E.

But then, all relatively weaker sides will give each other tough competition, will they not?

Here's a look at the 4 teams.

Pakistan, started as my favorites and entered through the back door.

Their batting has hardly look settled with 3 different opening pairs used in 4 matches. Younis Khan and Misbah have looked to guide their ship but have come too low down the order to do any damage.

But with the news of Abdul Razzaq's inclusion comes the ray of hope.

Its uncertain as to when Razzaq will join the team, but if he's available for all Super 8 games, then his recent exploits in the RBS 20-20 Cup and those of the past for Hyderabad Heroes in the ICL, provide Pakistan with a chance to bolster their top order.

Overall though, the batting remains a worry.

Sohail Tanvir looked good with the new ball; Aamer has been sharp picking up first over wickets in both games; Gul's yorkers have continued to do damage; Afridi and Ajmal found destructive from against the Dutch.

The bowling looks in good shape; the Kiwis and the Irish (fingers crossed) will find it difficult to cope with the pace and spin.

Sri Lanka will be harder to get past, however.

Sri Lanka, unexpectedly rocked the group stages and now look favorites.

With Dilshan, Jayasuriya, Sangakkara, and Jayawardene their batting looks top heavy but 3 of them have fired explosively in 2 games; while Mubarak came good at the end against the Aussies.

However, their middle order and the longish tail is a concern and untested.

Their bowling has relied on the triple threat from the M factor with both the Aussies and the Windies unable to confidently play Murali, Mendis, and Malinga. Even though Malinga has gone for some runs his slower ones and yorkers have picked wickets regularly.

They look like the strongest team in this group and look set to win all their games.

New Zealand, the injured eternal semi finalists

They have been severely depleted by injuries to Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder, leaving the batting to rely solely on McCullum with support from the inexperienced duo of Martin Guptill and Neil Broom.

Oram and Styris have flattered to get going, while Franklyn has also been missing through injury.

Furthermore, their bowling, with the exception of Ian Butler who has been exceptional, has looked one dimensional with the absence of Daniel Vettori, who is also out due to injury.

4 key men injured - what have they been up to in London?

The eternal semi finalists don't look like winning much during the Super 8s.

Ireland, the ones with the ability to upset

Their batting seems to rely on the O'Brien brothers, both aggressive stroke players, while they're bowling depends on Boyd Rankin and Trent Johnston.

These names were instrumental in dumping Pakistan out of the ODI World Cup in 2007; many Pakistanis still have nightmares about that day.

While Intikhab Alam will be one nervous man leading up to Monday.

However, this time I don't think Pakistan will repeat the mistakes of 2007.

They may be tough competition for a depleted New Zealand side, but McCullum's luck as captain can't be that bad.

While Sri Lanka's Triple M Threat will devour them.

Before the tournament, my call for the semi finalists from this Group was Pakistan and New Zealand; with the way Sri Lanka has played so far, I am compelled to change that.

So Sri Lanka and Pakistan go through from here to take on West Indies and India respectively.

Just for the record, my calls usually turn out the other way round.

Australia are set to play their 1st test match after the retirement of Glen Mcgrath, Shane Warne, and Justin Langer, against the touring Sri Lankans in about a week from now.

The Aussies announced a 13 man squad earlier today, ending months of speculation on who would partner Hayden at the top. Phil Jacques has tipped Chris Rogers, Brad Hodge, and Shane Watson to the position, and I think its well deserved. Jacques got a couple of 100s against Pakistan A over the summer and also a big 100 in one of the recent state games.

The question of who would be Australia's 1st choice spinner still remains though with McGill and Hogg both in the squad. Both are quality spinners and I think it will be really harsh on McGill if he doesn't play. He's waited all his life for Warne to retire and now when he has, Hogg ends up in good bowling form. By now McGill could have played over a 100 tests, and gotten over 500 wickets if he wasn't Australian.

The replacement of Glen McGrath is also not confirmed with either of Johnson or Tait to play the role with Lee and Clarke up front. I think the Aussie bowling looks a lot weaker without McGrath and Warne.

I'm tipping the Lankans to win their first ever test match on Aussie soil this time round. Any bets?