ICC T20 World Cup 2016: Carlos Brathwaite's Four Sixes — West Indies Win the Final at Eden Gardens
The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2016 was the seventh edition of the tournament, held in India in March 2016. West Indies won, defeating England in the Final at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on 3 April 2016. England needed 19 from the last over to win; West Indies needed 19 from the last over to win with Carlos Brathwaite on strike facing Ben Stokes. Brathwaite hit Stokes for four consecutive sixes — off balls 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the over — to win the match by 4 wickets off the last ball of the innings. West Indies became the first team to win the ICC Men's T20 World Cup twice (also 2012). Marlon Samuels scored 85 not out off 66 balls. Carlos Brathwaite scored 34 not out off 10 balls. West Indies captain Darren Sammy. England captain Eoin Morgan. England set the target: 155/9; West Indies won with 155/6 (6 wickets, last ball).
The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2016 was the seventh edition of the tournament, hosted by India across multiple venues in March and April 2016. Ten teams participated in the Super 10 (main round) alongside six teams in a qualifying Group stage. The tournament was won by West Indies, who defeated England in the Final at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on 3 April 2016 — in what became one of the most dramatic finishes in T20 cricket history.
The Final: England vs West Indies, Eden Gardens, 3 April 2016
England, batting first, posted 155/9 off 20 overs — largely thanks to contributions from Joe Root (54) and Jos Buttler (36). West Indies' chase began inconsistently: they were 11/2 in the 2nd over when Chris Gayle (4) and Johnson Charles (1) were dismissed. Marlon Samuels then produced a composed, anchoring innings of 85 not out off 66 balls. However, West Indies fell behind the required rate, and reaching the 19th over, they needed 19 from the final over — with Carlos Brathwaite on strike facing Ben Stokes.
Four Sixes: The Most Dramatic Finish in T20 History
Ben Stokes came into the last over needing to defend 19 runs. The match was England's to win with almost any reasonable delivery. But Brathwaite — a lower-order all-rounder with a T20 International average of under 20 before this match — hit Stokes for six off ball 1, six off ball 2, six off ball 3, and six off ball 4: four consecutive sixes. West Indies reached 160/6 off 19.4 overs, winning by 4 wickets with 2 balls to spare. Brathwaite finished 34 not out off 10 balls. The partnership with Samuels in the last over was 19 off 4 balls. England needed to hold their nerve and couldn't; West Indies needed a miracle and got one.
West Indies: First Team to Win T20 World Cup Twice
West Indies' victory made them the first team in history to win the ICC Men's T20 World Cup twice — they had also won in 2012 in Sri Lanka under Darren Sammy, defeating Sri Lanka in the Final. Both 2012 and 2016 titles came under Sammy's captaincy, making him one of only two captains in history to win back-to-back major ICC titles (Ricky Ponting won 2003 and 2007 ODI World Cups). India in 2026 became the third team to win two T20 World Cups (2007 and 2026). The West Indies 2016 triumph was especially celebrated in the Caribbean as it came primarily through players active in franchise T20 tournaments globally — Gayle (IPL), Sammy (IPL/BPL), Brathwaite (PSL) — demonstrating that Caribbean cricket's T20 excellence had transcended domestic decline.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Carlos Brathwaite's four sixes in the 2016 T20 World Cup Final considered so extraordinary?
Carlos Brathwaite's four consecutive sixes in the final over of the 2016 T20 World Cup Final are considered extraordinary because: the scale of the task (19 runs needed from 6 balls), the bowler (Ben Stokes, an experienced international all-rounder with good T20 stats), the occasion (a World Cup Final), and the batting context (Brathwaite was a lower-order batsman with a modest T20 average coming to the crease in a chase under pressure). The probability of four sixes off four balls from any batsman against any bowler in any context is very small; doing it off consecutive balls off the same bowler in a World Cup Final is statistically extraordinary. The result decided the tournament not on the last over but on the last four balls, giving England no opportunity to recover. Stokes, one of England's premier all-rounders, later stated that Brathwaite's innings had been the most devastating he had experienced in international cricket.
What role did Marlon Samuels play in West Indies winning the 2016 T20 World Cup Final?
Marlon Samuels' 85 not out off 66 balls was the foundation of West Indies' chase in the 2016 T20 World Cup Final. When West Indies lost Gayle and Charles in the second over to be 11/2, a fragile top order was exposed. Samuels held the innings together through a period when wickets kept falling around him — West Indies were 107/6 at the start of the last over when Brathwaite arrived. Samuels' innings was the anchor that kept West Indies within reach of the target: without his 85, Brathwaite would never have had the opportunity to finish the game. The pairing of Samuels' composed accumulation and Brathwaite's explosive six-hitting in the last over — described as a classical anchored chase with a dramatic finale — is studied as one of T20's most effective final-over completion strategies.