'Wanted to attack their best bowler' - Samuels

Marlon Samuels, whose 78 off 56 balls fashioned one of the great turnarounds in Twenty20 internationals to help West Indies win their first world championship since 1979, said he had wanted to cause panic in the Sri Lankan team by attacking their best bowler.

West Indies had a poor, nervous start to the final. After winning the toss, they took 17 balls to score a run off the bat. After six overs they were 14 for 2, and 32 for 2 after 10. Samuels, though, went after Lasith Malinga, considered not only the best in Sri Lanka but arguably the best in the world in this format. Malinga went for 54 in his four overs, which contained five sixes by Samuels, one of which was the biggest of the tournament.

"The wickets here have been slow," Samuels said. "[My plan has been] If I get in there, I will eventually come out on top. Today was a different mindset. I decided to attack their best bowler, which is Malinga. It paid off for me in the end."

Ever since his comeback to international cricket, Samuels has been a determined man, determined to make up for the lost time. He has already marked his comeback with Test centuries against England and New Zealand, and said he wanted West Indies to carry this momentum into five-day format.

"I am going to give it a rest," Samuels said. "Until the Test series in Bangladesh starts. I need to set my standards for at least five centuries until the end of the year."

Samuels wore a yellow neckerchief during the final - a good-luck charm, he said. "[It's for] good luck. I take it on tour, and I decided I am going to wear it to the final. I batted with it underneath my shirt, and fielded with it outside. Got couple of wickets."