With the 2021 T20 World Cup now in full swing, we will be seeing who takes the title at the final on 14th November.
As we wait to see who the champions will be, what better time is there to take a look back at the 2016 World Cup final?
Ian Bishop has recently been chatting with Betway Sports and has some fond memories, and newfound fame, from 2016.
The 2016 final was a meeting of two T20 cricketing greats.
England had taken the title back in 2010 and the West Indies had also been winners.
Whoever went on to win would make history by being the only country to win the T20 World Cup twice.
As we now know, this was an honour that went to the West Indies.
The road to victory
The 2016 World Cup took place in India with the final being hosted on 3rd April in Kolkata.
What made this final so interesting was the route that the contenders had taken to get there.
The teams played each other in their opening matches, only to come head-to-head again in the final.
It appears that this first outing was to be a great indicator of what the final showdown would bring.
The opening game saw the West Indies dismiss England with ease, winning by a clear six wickets and going on to top the group.
England had to settle for second in the group and, at the hands of the same team, second in the overall competition.
Bishop’s prediction
Bishop relayed a story of how he had almost predicted what was to come only two days before the final.
He said: “I went to a function hosted by a friend of mine two days before the final and one of the questions was which players we should look forward to watching in the final, beyond the obvious guys like Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo.”
Bishop recalled that the name that came to mind was one Carlos Braithwaite.
He remembered that Braithwaite was having a great World Cup and was showing himself to be a good all-round cricketer.
He then went on to tell those at the function that they should remember Braithwaite’s name.
Surely Bishop could not have known what was going to happen in just two days’ time.
All about Braithwaite
The 2016 T20 final saw cricket being played that was nothing short of amazing.
It reached the stage where the West Indies needed 19 from their final six deliveries for them to beat England and to be crowned world champions for the second time.
As history now shows, the West Indies only needed four of those deliveries.
It was Braithwaite who smashed four sixes in a row and brought England’s hopes to an end.
What is remembered just as well as this moment is the response of Bishop.
In a show of emotion, he declared: “Carlos Braithwaite! Carlos Braithwaite! Remember the name!”
As Bishop told Betway Sports: “When he hit the final six, the first thing that regurgitated was what I said to that gentleman.”
For the second time in just two days, Bishop was telling us all to remember Braithwaite’s name, and by hitting those sixes Braithwaite helped the West Indies to make history.
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