World T20 2016, in photos
T20 is the Champion - The World T20 2016 in pics
Quiet beginnings: The World T20 did not get off to the most colourful start atmosphere wise, with the first round - shush, those were not qualifiers - featuring plenty of empty seats and a good dose of rain.•International Cricket Council
Here come the Scots: (A flamboyantly turned out) Scotland had gone 20 matches in ICC global events - since the 1999 World Cup - without a win. Their wait for victory ended here, when they beat Hong Kong by eight wickets.•International Cricket Council
Beating the odds: Also flying high were Afghanistan. They got through to round two after thumping Full Member Zimbabwe by 59 runs in what was effectively a knockout game.•Associated Press
Made to order: New Zealand would lean heavily on their slow bowlers - for their skill - and captain Kane Williamson - for his cricketing acumen - all through the second round, as they continued to read the conditions to near perfection, pick their XIs accordingly, and leave all challengers in their wake. They were the first team to make the semi-finals, winning all four Super 10 games. •AFP
Red alert: Tillakaratne Dilshan's hair was possibly the brightest part of a listless Sri Lankan campaign.•Associated Press
The Gayle diaries: Another T20 tournament, another blistering century from Chris Gayle. His hundred came off 47 balls (the fastest in a World T20), included 11 sixes (the most in a World T20 innings), and took his tally of tons in T20 cricket to 17. That it flattened England goes without saying.•AFP
Signing off in style: Repeatedly through the Super 10s, Afghanistan showed flashes of brilliance and threatened to upturn a Full Member or two. They finally did it in their last game, against eventual champions West Indies, by defending 123. Cue in hand-pumping "Champion" dance moves, which, ironically, was the signature celebration of their defeated opponents.•AFP
Ladies first: Finals day at Eden Gardens, and it was the women who kicked things off with Australia playing West Indies. Australia looked set for a fourth successive World T20 title when they got to 148, but 18-year-old Hayley Matthews had other ideas, ticking off 66 from 45 in a 120-run stand with Stafanie Taylor to help West Indies claim their maiden title.•Getty Images/ICC
View from the other side: Understandably, Stokes needed some consoling.•Getty Images
Young man's game? Hong Kong's opening batsman Ryan Campbell was one of the stories of the opening round. At 44 years and 30 days, he became the oldest debutant in T20I cricket, turning out for Hong Kong 14 years after he debuted in ODIs for Australia against New Zealand; that was also the debut match of a certain Brendon McCullum.•Getty Images
Irish eyes not smiling: Oman created a bit of history of their own, beating the more fancied Ireland by two wickets with two balls to spare in a gripping encounter in Dharamsala.•International Cricket Council
Hopes washed away: Netherlands, on the other hand, were one of the victims of the wet weather, their must-win against Oman in Dharamsala abandoned without a ball bowled. "Today's rain means we're in a position where we possibly won't be playing in a world event for [four] years. It's pretty tough," a distraught Peter Borren said after the washout.•International Cricket Council
Lights, camera… India v Pakistan duly rolled around, with the usual hype in tow. Chasing 119 from 18 overs, India were in some trouble after a sharp start from Mohammad Amir and a typical over from Mohammad Sami - short and wide outside off for four, no-ball, dot, W, W… - had them at 23 for 3 in the fifth. But then Pakistan ran into a determined Virat Kohli. Enough said. •AFP
Watto's goodbye: Halfway through the Super 10s, Shane Watson announced this would be his last tournament for Australia. They would have to beat India if he were to extend his international career by a game, and Watson did all he could in the field to make that happen: four overs that accounted for Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina and cost only 23 runs, and a sharp, tumbling catch in the covers to get rid of Yuvraj Singh. But that man Kohli would have none of it.•Getty Images
The Root of SA's problems: South Africa must have thought they had runs to spare when they piled up 229 against England. When England got to 48 in 2.2 overs, doubts might have begun to pop up. The doubts must have grown into mild panic as they blitzed 89 in the Powerplay. And it all built towards dizzying disbelief as Joe Root creamed his way to 83 off 44, and England won with two balls to spare. •Associated Press
England go one step closer: In the first semi-final, unbeaten New Zealand were soundly beaten by England. In the final four overs of their innings, New Zealand scratched out only 20 runs. In the first four overs of theirs, England made 49. That turbocharged start, crafted chiefly by Jason Roy, meant England needed less than a run a ball by the tenth over, and it was all over for New Zealand.•Getty Images
Work and play: The girls celebrated and the boys - who had already arrived for their big game against England - joined in. Matthews got a bear hug from Carlos Brathwaite (to quote Ian Bishop, "remember the name").•IDI/Getty Images
The after party: Understandably, West Indies - both the men and the women - partied hard.•Getty Images
Bangladesh charge: Expectedly, Bangladesh were one of the two teams to progress to the next round, winning both their completed games. It helped that, against Oman, their experienced opener Tamim Iqbal delivered his country's first T20I century.•Associated Press
NZ spin a web: It was India v New Zealand to kick off the Super 10s phase. Things didn't go to plan for the hosts-cum-favourites as they ran into New Zealand at their tactical best: India were spun out for 79 on a raging Nagpur turner by the unfancied spin trio of Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi and Nathan McCullum.•IDI/Getty Images
Kohli classics: That same determined Kohli showed up time and again. He followed up his 55 not out against Pakistan with 24 (v Ban), 82* (v Aus, chasing close to 12 an over towards the end in a virtual quarter-final), and 89* (v WI, in the semi-final). Leaving aside the first round, he was the tournament's top-scorer with 273 mostly flawless runs at 136.50 and a strike rate of 146.77.•Associated Press
Lala's last hurrah? Shahid Afridi said before the World T20 that this might be his last tournament for Pakistan, and, though he has not retired, it might well be... While he showed glimpses of his old self with 49 off 19 against Bangladesh, his team just could not get it right with the bat consistently and was sent packing before the knockouts.•AFP
Bangladesh's brain fade: What do you do if you need two runs from three balls? Melt down dramatically, if you're Bangladesh playing India in Bangalore. Bangladesh had no business losing that game, with four wickets in hand and two experienced batsmen at the crease. But lose it they did, as Dhoni & Co pulled off a miraculous win.•AFP
India outmuscled: If a sublime Kohli caressed and guided India to 192 in the second semi, a power-packed West Indies whacked and bludgeoned their way to 196. India helped them along, too, twice overstepping on balls that had top-scorer Lendl Simmons out. The hosts-cum-favourites ousted, it was time for West Indies to make merry. •Getty Images
Taking it late: Roughly four hours later, it was Brathwaite's turn to play the winning hand. Despite Marlon Samuels' determined and unbeaten 85, it looked as though the game was firmly with England with West Indies needing 19 off the final over. Then Ben Stokes ran into Brathwaite. Six, six, six, six, and England were out cold.•Associated Press