By Rajiv Bisnauth

THE West Indies men and women’s teams have made their way into the final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2016 after defeating India and New Zealand respectively. The West Indies men’s team rode on Lendl Simmons’s emphatic knock, while tight bowling from the women’s team earned them their final berth.
West Indies women take on the Australian women in the final at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, just before their male counterparts take on England.

The ladies will face an uphill task against the three-time defending champions Australia, who are also known as the Southern Stars. The team from “Down Under” have been unbeaten since their inaugural win in 2010.

Both the teams come into the final in good form, having won three of their four group games. They also came through to the final after close encounters in the semi-finals against New Zealand and England respectively.

However, on the men’s side, Eoin Morgan’s men reached the showpiece final with a clincial win over New Zealand on Wednesday, while the West Indies sealed their spot a day later with a stunning triumph over hosts India.

But England lost by six wickets when the two teams met earlier in the tournament with Chris Gayle slamming a 47-ball ton.

Chronicle Sport spoke with a few cricket enthusiasts, who had their say on the West Indies teams’ chances.

Colin Stuart, former Guyana and West Indies fast bowler, said he is confident that both the men and women’s teams will come out victorious.

“Both teams done well in the tournament, and I expect them to win, but having said that the format is tricky,” Stuart said.

Former Guyana batsman Rabindranauth Seeram believes the winners could come down to which team wins the toss.

“It has [been] shown during the tournament that the toss is vital,” Seeram said.

President of the Lusignan Golf Club, Oncar Ramroop, said the brand of cricket the Caribbean sides played throughout the tournament is quite remarkable.

“I expect both teams to come out champions, they have shown that this format belongs to them, so I am confident that both teams will win,” Ramroop said.