Man of the match Marlon Samuels taunted Australia spin legend Shane Warne after his unbeaten 85 set the West Indies up for a sensational World Twenty20 title triumph on Sunday.
The right-handed batsman’s 66-ball knock kept the Windies in with a chance of successfully beating England’s 155-9 total after openers Johnson Charles and Chris Gayle fell early for a combined five runs.
Samuels’ scintillating 85 included nine boundaries and two sixes and laid the foundations for Carlos Brathwaite to dramatically hit four consecutive sixes as the Windies won with two balls to spare in Kolkata.
The 35-year-old cheekily dedicated the Windies’ historic second World T20 title to Warne, who has clashed with Samuels on a number of occasions in the past.
The pair had an infamous run-in during Australia’s Big Bash League in 2013 and Warne rekindled the feud when he criticised Samuels following his dismissal against India in Thursday’s WT20 semi-final.
“I woke up this morning with one thing on my mind, said Samuels.
“Shane Warne has been talking continuously and all I want to say is this is for Shane Warne.”
Samuels made just eight in the Windies’ seven-wicket victory over India in the last-four, but his monumental innings on Sunday was reminiscent of his contribution in the final four years ago.
The West Indies won their first World T20 title in 2012 with Samuels scoring 78 against Sri Lanka in the final.
“I don’t worry about semi-finals because when it comes to finals I always turn up for the team,” he boasted.
Congrats to both teams on an amazing final. Well done to the WI, well played Marlon & great hitting Brathwaite. Bring on some dancing haha !
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) April 3, 2016
