Well, can you believe that? I couldn't believe it. Hell, I still can't believe it.
Did that really happen? How did that happen?
How on earth does a man, faced with the seemingly impossible task of hitting 19 runs from six balls in the crushing atmosphere of one of cricket's cauldrons at Eden Gardens, smash four sixes IN A ROW to win a World T20 final?
You have to see it to believe it.
Carlos Brathwaite – arms outstretched, chest puffed out – may have just stolen Chris Gayle's "Universe Boss" title with a display of pure hitting under pressure to seal victory that will surely go down as one of the most astonishing finishes to a major tournament in sporting history.
Chris Gayle celebrates (Photosport)
Cue the magnificent sight of the West Indies – men and women – together, mid-pitch, singing the soundtrack of their success: "Champion" by DJ Bravo – aka West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.
A song so bad, yet impossible not to like after watching Gayle, Bravo, Sammy & co singing this Caribbean party-starter at every opportunity, but none more appropriate than now. I'll be honest: I've been singing that song – with accompanying actions – all morning.
To top it all off, we have Marlon Samuels – fresh from hitting an unbeaten 85 – dedicate his man of the match award to smack-talking Shane Warne.
It was like a scene from Wrestlemania, which could only have been more awesome if Warne had run to the middle with accompanying theme music for a WWE-style brawl. Or maybe he could have crashed the post-match press conference, after Samuels delivered this face-melting burn: "Shane Warne has a problem with me … Maybe because my face is real, and his face is not?"
This ladies & gentlemen, is why Twenty20 rules the world of cricket.
It is the perfect blend of sport and entertainment.
On the field, the format has taught players - and fans - that anything is possible. Would Brathwaite have been in the frame of mind to do what he did to win a Test – even a one-day international – in such a fashion? Twenty20 puts a player's mind in a gear they never knew they had.
The same could be said of Samuels. Would he have behaved like that after a Test or ODI victory? I doubt it.
This format brings another side out of the players. It sheds the traditions – and sometimes, respect - associated with the gentlemen's game. It challenges the game in ways the sport may not have anticipated.
(Photosport)
Perhaps the best thing about Twenty20 is that the length of the game, and the very nature of the way it's played, is a leveller. Who was the only team to beat the West Indies at this tournament? Afghanistan.
The ICC seems to do all it can to suppress associate nations, but results in this format will continue to push claims for more seats to be added to cricket's top table.
At the same time, it highlights the challenge the ICC faces to ensure Test cricket remains relevant. A hard-fought Test over five days has the ability to showcase the sport at its very best, but it's on a hiding to nothing to deliver big finishes with the regularity that T20 is able to.
What about the players? The decline of West Indies cricket has been sad to watch in recent years.
What will this victory do for them? It should be the springboard to greatness, but it could also encourage a generation of players to chase the T20 dollar overseas.
The World T20 has changed some of the perceptions around Twenty20 cricket. It's always been entertaining, but this tournament has shown that the format is maturing. Planning, tactics and selections have been vital to success, and have proved something to the purists. Not even they could deny that what they saw this morning was fun to watch.
Hell, if Sir Clive Lloyd's doing the "Champion" dance, maybe it's time we all started to believe.
Newshub.
