West Indies on Sunday night created history by becoming the first nation to win the ICC World T20 twice with a dramatic four wicket victory over England riding on Carlos Brathwaite four consecutive lusty sixes in the final over of the innings.
Chasing a tricky target of 156, it was Marlon Samuels, who did an encore of the 2012 final that Darren Sammy's men had won, hitting a magnificent 85 not out off 66 balls with nine boundaries and two huge sixes.
However it was the unheralded giant Brathwaite, who showed why he commanded such a record IPl price from Delhi Daredvils scoring 34 off only 10 balls as he hit the four most important maximums of his short cricketing career.
With 19 runs needed off the final over, Brathwaite hit the first ball behind square for a six and the next was hit over long-on for a six and the third over long-off to basically bring down the equation 1 off 3 balls before finishing off with another hit over deep mid-wicket.
The entire stadium save a few English fans erupted in joy as the West Indies team members rushed to the field to congratulate the heroes.
It was one of the most beautiful sights as the women's team also joined their men as the danced to the now popular Bravo rap of 'Champion' in unison. They took a 'lap of Honour from an Eden Gardens that gave them a standing ovation.
The West Indies despite all their problems are now World Champions in U-19, women's and men's World T20.
For England's bowling unit, the hero certainly would left-arm seamer David Willey, who had phenomenal figures of 3/20 in 4 overs with an astounding 13 dot balls as he increased pressure on the Caribbean batsmen before Stokes frittered it away.
Eoin Morgan took a calculative risk introducing part-time off-spinner Root in the second over and it turned out to be a masterstroke. Root snuffed out Chris Gayle (4) and Johnson Charles (0), both trying to hit a six and caught by Ben Stokes in the deep.
It was Morgan's ability to play on Gayle's mind that proved to be key. Gayle may thought about Moeen Ali and it was Root, who did flight the ball.
In the final over of the Powerplay, Marlon Samuels (27) spanked three boundaries off Chris Jordan to take the score to 37. He had a close shave when he edged one off liam Plunkett to Jos Buttler which Rod Tucker had given out. But replays showed that the England wicketkeeper did not take the catch cleanly and the batsman got a reprieve.
However England bowlers maintained tight lines West Indies reached 54 for 3 in 10 overs needing 102 from remaining 10 overs. But Samuels and of course Brathwaite had other ideas.
The turning point was the 15th over bowled by the normally disciplined liam Plunkett which yielded 18 runs as Samuels finally gave the charge hitting him for two sixes of full length deliveries apart from a boundary as West Indies for the first time raised visions of victory.
However he lost the dangerous Andre Russell (1) in the next over when Stokes took his third catch and Willey got his second wicket. It became 107 for six as Darren Sammy's (2) horrible tournament came to an end with an atrocious shot.
But Brathwaite let Samuels set the stage for him before he finished the final leg of the chase with utter disdain leaving the Englishmen horrified.
For an England team, even after close to three decades, there was no change in their fortune in a global final. Just like Mike Gatting's reverse sweep, Stokes's over will also come to haunt them big time.
Earlier, West Indies bowlers effected a middle-order collapse to restrict England to a decent 155 for 9 despite Joe Root's attractive half-century after Sammy won the toss.
While triggering a collapse during the back-10. The last five overs produced a meagre 40 runs. England were cruising 84 for 3 in 11.1 overs with Root and Buttler having added 61 runs already but were soon reduced to 111/7, losing four wickets for 27.
Brief Scores
West Indies: 161/6 (Samuels 85*, Brathwaite 34*, Willey 3/20) beat England: 155/9 (Root 54, Brathwaite 3/23, Bravo 3/37) by four wickets.