Windies eye double crown at Eden Gardens

KOLKATA: Till a few months back, West Indian cricket seemed to be in complete in disarray.

But things, it seems, have really changed.

On Sunday, West Indies will be going all out for a double crown here at Eden Gardens when both their men’s and women’s teams seek World Twenty20 glory in a doubleheader. The women will meet Australia before the men take on England.

Just a few weeks back, West Indies recorded a stunning title-winning triumph at the ICC World Under-19 championship in Bangladesh in February.

And now their men’s and women’s team are raring to have a go at their opponents in the World T20 finals.

It is a remarkable turnaround for West India cricket considering that it has been beset by financial problems disputes between players and the West Indies Cricket Board.

It will be only the second time one country has contested both finals. In 2010 Australia’s women beat New Zealand, but its men fell against England.

West Indies won both semifinals in a doubleheader in Mumbai on Thursday. First their women narrowly held off previously unbeaten New Zealand, then the men chased down a target of 193 runs by the host and favourite India, reducing a roaring home crowd of 32,000 to near silence when Andre Russell blasted the winning runs with two balls to spare.

“We came on a mission inspired by the under-19s and the ladies,” said the West Indies captain, Darren Sammy. “Now we have two West Indies teams in the final, and I know that means a lot to the Caribbean.”

Victory was particularly joyful for the West Indies women after elimination at the semifinal stage in the last three World T20s. They will start the final as an underdog, since Australia will be pursuing a fourth consecutive championship, but they have no worries.

“We have been waiting for this for four years now, and it’s fantastic to be in the final,” said West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor, who took three wickets to complete a victory built on Britney Cooper’s hard-hitting innings of 61. “If we are consistent enough, we can definitely win in the final.”

Whoever wins the men’s final will be the first two-time winner of the World T20. The teams met in their first match of the current tournament, when West Indies beat England by six wickets following an innings of 100 runs by its veteran opening batsman Chris Gayle.

Kolkata will offer no home advantage, since neither team has played there yet.

The obstacle on the West Indies’ path to a title is England, which has followed the traditional trajectory of World T20 champions: a stuttering start followed by rapid improvement from match to match. Losing their opening match to West Indies echoes the 2010 tournament, when they won their only previous global championship. But Paul Collingwood, who was captain in 2010 and is now England’s batting and fielding coach, reckons the current team is stronger.

“In the past our lineup probably had one or two players that were real match-winners,” Collingwood said on Thursday. “This team is full of match-winners.”