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.

It is going to be a cracking World Twenty20 final between the West Indies and Sri Lanka tomorrow and I am having a tough time deciding on who to support.

Both teams are the eternal dark horses and both teams are typically those that are named by fans when asked "who are you supporting besides your home team?".

And both teams deserve to win this final!

For Sri Lanka, it is going to be their 4th World Cup Final since 2007. A 4th final in 5 years is a huge achievement, but the fact that they have not been able to win any of these finals is a fact that has been haunting the Sri Lankans for a long time. About time they win one!

For the West Indies, it is going to be their 1st World Cup Final since 1983, making it 29 long years since they made it to one. And it has been 33 years since they won one! About time they win one!

So who the hell do you support?

Its a tough one.

Even calling it is a tough one.

The Windies batsmen have been in devastating form. Led by Chris Gayle, all of them - Charles, Samuels, Bravo, Pollard - have come to the party. Gangnam Style!

Gayle has failed only once in this World T20 and it was against Sri Lanka in their Super 8 game. Sri Lanka easily won that game, but it doesn't look like the Windies will surrender that easily come tomorrow.

The Sri Lankans have been the most consistent side in this tournament and it will definitely be difficult to topple them.

With Sri Lanka's dangerous bowling attack and the West Indies' menacing batsmen it is going to be an intense battle between bat and ball.

Fine, all that is cricket, and both the teams may or may not be evenly balanced, but who the hell do you support?

I want to see the Windies win so Gayle & Co. can break into a Gangnam style celebration.

But I don't want to see a million Sri Lankan heartbreaks.

I want to see the Windies rejoice at winning a World Cup title after over three decades.

But I don't want to see Sri Lanka to lose a 4th successive final.

I want to see the Windies paint Colombo red tomorrow night.

But I don't want to see Sri Lanka lose in front of their home crowd.

I don't think I have ever been so divided in support.

I hope both teams give us a cracking final! May the best team win.

From the Nightmares of Lahore to the Dreams of London.

It will be a cracking final no doubt.

I will have a detailed preview up tomorrow; right now I want to share a thought that I shared with a friend before we sat down to watch the West Indies vs Sri Lanka semi final.

I told him that I would like to see Pakistan play Sri Lanka in the final; my reasoning was that if Pakistan manage to win the World Twenty20 then they would do so after beating the two best teams of the competition.

And that would put a lid on those going around saying that Pakistan did not deserve to be in the semis or don't deserve to win the cup because of the easy route they had.

Well we had the tougher semi final, and we made it. Come Sunday, we may go a step further than 2007!

Will you still say Pakistan did it because of an easy route to the semi finals?

At the business end of the World Twenty20, we have two teams that have displayed consistency and professionalism to reach the semi finals on the back of unbeaten runs.

On the other hand, we have two teams that at best are unpredictable and volatile that have got this far through their inconsistent bursts of flair, aggression, and individual brilliance.

Here's a look at the two semi finals of the World Twenty20.

Billing: Battle of the Bowlers

Pre-Tournament Calls: One was labeled as the favorites for the title; the other I labeled as the favorites.

The Past: They have clashed only once before in a T20 international that South Africa won, almost 3 years ago. South Africa have never gone beyond the semi final stage of an ICC World Cup tournament. The last 3 times Pakistan reached the semi finals of an ICC World Cup, they went on to play the final.

The Now: South Africa are unbeaten and also in the middle of a 7-match winning streak in T20 internationals, the most by any team. Pakistan have had an easy route to the final four having beaten only New Zealand, Netherlands, and Ireland.

Key Players: 2 of the 3 leading run scorers are from South Africa - AB and Kallis; top 2 leading wicket takers are from Pakistan - Gul and Ajmal.

Strengths: 6 of the 10 leading wicket takers are from Pakistan and South Africa - Afridi, Van Der Merwe, Parnell, and Steyn in addition to the above 2.

Weaknesses: While South Africa's batting on paper looks extremely powerful, their 128 against New Zealand, 19 overs to chase 112 against England, and 130 against India were hardly convincing.

Pakistan's batting has hardly fired with their highest scores coming against Netherlands and Ireland, and their key batsmen failing miserably in run chases against England and Sri Lanka.

Meaning of Victory: South Africa to shed the chokers tag, Pakistan to show that they can compete with the best.

Q's Call: The team that bats first will win. I don't think either team has the batting to chase down a total, while both have the bowling to defend any kind of score.