The T20 Cricket World Cup Final has arrived and England will face favored West Indies in the championship match that will stream live online Sunday — a final match that will end with one team becoming the first repeat winner in the short history of the ICC T20 World Cup.
The 2016 edition is the sixth T20 Cricket World Cup, which is played every two years rather than every four like the 50-overs Cricket World Cup. The previous five tournaments have ended with a different winner each time. West Indies won the 2012 T20 World Cup, held in Sri Lanka. England took home the Cup in the previous competition, in 2010 — when the the tournament was held in the West Indies.
How England and the West Indies compare ahead of the T20 final https://t.co/sk70iHVNRY
— Cirque Group. (@CirqueUK) April 1, 2016
But for both teams, the 2016 Cup marks a significant step in the development of the white ball game. England have traditionally put the focus of their national cricket program into winning Test matches, while West Indies, of course, were the world’s dominant Test team through the 1970s and much of the ’80s — as well as winning the first two editions of the Cricket World Cup,
But just over the past year, England under Captain Eoin Morgan have placed a new emphasis on the shorter, more intense versions of the game and a T20 World Cup would serve as golden seal for Morgan’s efforts.
Both teams played in Group One of the Super 10 stage of this year’s tournament in India, with West Indies topping the group and England placing second. When they squared off in group play, West Indies won by six wickets thanks to a stellar century off of 48 balls by Chris Gayle, leading West Indies to chase down 183 with relative ease.
Watch highlights of the first England vs. West Indies T20 Cricket World Cup match in the video below.
To find out how to watch a live stream of the England vs. West Indies T20 Cricket World Cup Final, see the streaming links in the final paragraph of this article. First ball is scheduled for 7 p.m. India Standard Time at the legendary Eden Gardens cricket ground in Kolkata, India, on Sunday, April 3.
For fans in the United States, the match will stream live at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 6:30 a.m. Pacific.
While West Indies have a long tradition of producing overpowering fast bowlers, in this T20 World Cup, their two spinners, Samuel Badree and Sulieman Benn, have played perhaps the most important roles with the ball.
West Indies play England in the last game of the #WT20 . WATCH their journey to the Final!https://t.co/6jbIboKRmF pic.twitter.com/ukKdp43Tcy
— ICC (@ICC) April 1, 2016
The pitch at Eden Gardens has been perceived as generally neutral between spin and seam in this World Cup. But the ICC has installed an entirely new pitch for the final, so until the players actually have a chance to inspect the surface there’s no telling how it will behave .
West Indies feature perhaps the most fearsome batting lineup in T20 cricket, led by Gayle and backed up by Johnson Charles, Lendl Simmons, Andre “Superman” Russell, and Captain Darren Sammy.
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But England may have the deepest lineup, from the top of the order with Jason Roy and Alex Hales though Joe Root — one of the world’s top three format batsmen — Morgan, and Jos Buttler all the way to bowlers David Willey and Reece Toply at the tail end, both of whom are credible with the bat as well.
In other words, expect a high-scoring, back-and-forth game to decide the 2016 T20 Cricket World Cup champion.
DTN Cricket: England’s game plan in World T20 final against West Indies: keep cool and get Chris Gayle out ear… https://t.co/sH5K7yaPqD
— DTN Cricket (@DTNCricket) April 1, 2016
Star Sports will carry a live stream of the championship match at this link . But the most reliable way to watch the England Vs. West Indies T20 Cricket World Cup Final, via live stream in the United States, is through Willow TV, which is available via this YouTube link . Fans can also use The Willow app for mobile devices or on Willow TV’s own site, accessible by clicking here with a monthly subscription fee.
There are legal ways to watch Willow TV for free. Certain promotional offers make it possible to watch the all-cricket network, including Sunday’s England Vs. West Indies T20 Cricket World Cup Final match, such as the offer at this link. The best bet would be the one-month free trial of Sling TV’s International Sports Package, which includes Willow. Information on that deal can be found at this link. The India-based site CricHD will also carry a stream at this link .
[Featured Image By Gareth Copley / Getty Images]