This is not the final the World Twenty20 hosts craved or expected: it may be the one preferred by England, who had the luxury of getting comfortable in Kolkata while India and West Indies were delivering yet another mini-epic in a tournament that has been producing more heart-stopping close shaves than Sweeney Todd.
Playing India in front of 66,000 adoring fans at Eden Gardens might have been a daunting prospect even for Eoin Morgan’s eager side. Then again the astonishing power-hitting in Mumbai of Johnson Charles, Andre Russell and Lendl Simmons, who can now be regarded as a super sub of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer proportions, may have prompted England to think again about their preferences.
Here was a vivid reminder there is much more to West Indies than Chris Gayle peppering the leg-side boundaries before leading the dancing celebrations. They are dangerously unpredictable with the bat, capable of losing to Afghanistan and beating India in the same week. In the field they are canny, calling on their vast experience in the Indian Premier League.
Now they are buzzing at the prospect of a white-ball Caribbean revival; their under-19s won the 50-over World Cup in Bangladesh this winter; their women, against the odds, contest the T20 final in Kolkota against Australia tomorrow and the men are recapturing the spirit of 2012 when they beat Sri Lanka in the T20 final in Colombo.
Eight of their team played in that game while Simmons was watching from the bench. This time the West Indies coach, Uncle Phil, is sure to retain young Lendl in the final XI since he delivered that match-winning innings 48 hours after arriving in Mumbai from the Caribbean.
Their captain, Darren Sammy, keeps smiling and cajoling and retains the knack of galvanising some magnificent colour-blind cricketers – they seldom see red. No doubt if Sammy was English there would be keyboard wiseacres calling for him to be dropped because of his limited contributions to the team – I haven’t quite managed to avoid those demanding Morgan should be removed from the England team because of his lack of runs at a time when his side are on the brink of a remarkable triumph.
Just for the record Sammy has scored six runs in two innings at a strike rate of 54 in this tournament; in the field he has given himself two overs (one for 17). But somehow he seems worth his place at Eden Gardens. If nothing else, he appears to be a lucky captain; he has won the toss in all West Indies’ five games and at the Wankhede Stadium against India that was crucial.
In Mumbai especially bowling first in night matches has been a huge advantage in this World T20. West Indies (twice) and England won their games chasing there; South Africa beat Afghanistan batting first but that match began in the afternoon. After Thursday’s semi-final the pundits – and not only the Indian ones – were focusing constantly on the impact of the dew in the second innings. And they were right to do so. Ravi Ashwin and Ravi Jadeja, the India spinners, could not grip the ball properly and were neutered. Thus winning the toss was probably worth around 25 runs to West Indies.
However there was a deafening silence when there should have been the obvious follow-up question, which is: “Why not start the matches in the afternoon when the outcome of the toss will not have a significant bearing on the result?” We all know the answer. Fairness is a long way from being the highest priority in the scheduling of an ICC tournament.
Maximising income is so much more important. Sometimes it is worth posing a question even when we know the answer can be taken for granted. It is a bit depressing when no one even bothers to ask it lest the flow of cash to all parties concerned is disturbed.
Hopefully the toss in Kolkata will not be so significant on Sunday. Before the match there will be much perusal of a pitch that is likely to possess less grass and produce less bounce than those in Mumbai (obviously) and Delhi (more surprisingly). It may help England’s preparation that Trevor Bayliss has worked here for the Kolkata Knight Riders; therefore he should have a better idea than most of what to expect.
The likelihood is that dew will not be such a significant factor here. In three out of the four matches played at Eden Gardens in the tournament the captain winning the toss has chosen to bat first.
The exception was MS Dhoni but there had been constant rain throughout the day and the covers had been on the pitch throughout. That informed Dhoni’s decision rather than the possible onset of dew. Both captains like chasing but the wise captain usually takes notice of the conditions rather than recent history.
Sometimes the ball turns here – it certainly did when India played Pakistan – and this would not alarm England as much now they are playing West Indies rather than India.
Throughout the tournament England’s batsmen have prospered on non-turning wickets. By the same token West Indies are at their most dangerous on true, batsmen-friendly surfaces. They kept smashing the ball into the stands in Mumbai but they were unable to do that in Nagpur on a much slower surface. It may be Morgan can revert to bowling eight overs of spin here.
Sourav Ganguly, who is now the president of Cricket Association of Bengal, has promised a surface worthy of the occasion. Now India are out any temptation to contrive a turner for the home side, which Ganguly and his groundsman said they would have resisted anyway, has been removed. Two days before the game some patchy grass was visible. Usually the pitch at Eden Gardens plays better than it looks, not an observation that can be applied to either of these photogenic sides.
england
