When emotions spill over

Sport and emotions are intricately linked together. Without the gamut of emotions – joy and sorrow, agony and ecstasy, excitement and anxiety, celebration and sadness – sport would be dull and boring.

Two images stood out on Sunday night at the steamy, raucous Eden Gardens for their contrasting appeal as Carlos Brathwaite pulled off an improbable win over England in the World T20 final here. With the West Indies needing 19 off the final over, the big-built all-rounder from Barbados creamed four consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes to finish off the chase in stunning fashion. This was just another example of glorious uncertainties of this game.

England, who stood helpless as the game slipped away from their grasp, were crestfallen unable to comprehend what had just hit them. Having pulled off a miracle, West Indies went berserk. The entire squad and the support staff broke into a jig and some of the players even took off their shirts as they took a lap of honour. In the din of the Champion song and dance and a haze of celebratory smoke, Stokes’ misery remained a blur. He had been one of their best bowlers in the death through the tournament but he was off target on the most important day.

As West Indies erupted in euphoria after the fourth ball, Stokes sank to his knees. He covered his head, but couldn’t hide his emotions. Skipper Eoin Morgan tried to console him but there is no worse feeling than the guilt of letting your team-mates down. Stokes must have felt like a footballer who would have missed a decisive penalty in a World Cup final. Sport can be cruel but that is nature of the beast. It’s a winner takes all business and West Indies did take everything – the trophy, the moolah and the bragging rights. The celebrations began at the centre of Eden and spilled over to early Monday morning in their team hotel.

You can beat West Indies in a game of cricket but not when it comes to celebration – it’s unique, spontaneous, unbridled and infectious and comes naturally to them. But then again, there is a thin line between revelry and disgracing oneself with distasteful behaviour. West Indies, in the high of their historic triumph, breached that thin line on a few occasions perhaps diminishing the significance of their achievement.

While Marlon Samuels -- whose objectionable acts post the match were matched only by the sublime nature of his match-winning knock -- was immediately fined for his outburst at Stokes in the final over, he had to be restrained by at least five of his team-mates, including coach Phil Simmons and bowling coach Curtly Ambrose, as he flung his shirt to the ground and charged towards the English dug out.

Stokes-Samuels feud dates back to the send-off salute that the West Indian gave to the Englishman during the Grenada Test last April.

“Well, he doesn’t learn,” Samuels said of Stokes. “They keep telling him whenever he plays against me, ‘do not speak to me because I’m going to perform.’ Didn’t even face a ball and he had so much to say to me today. So I knew I had to be right there at the end, again. Yes, that’s what I thrive on, that’s why I’m still around for so long, despite so many ups and downs,” he remarked.

At the presentation ceremony, he took a dig at Shane Warne (totally unrelated to the occasion) and during the post-match press-do, the Jamaican put his padded feet up on the table and refused to take them down despite a request by an ICC media person to do so. It was disrespectful to say the least as journalists stood at touching distance of his shoes in the inadequate press conference hall.

It’s easy to be dignified in defeat but it’s far more important to be graceful in victory. West Indies, or more precisely Samuels, failed that test on the day.