The tournament that took the format home
By 2012 Twenty20 had stopped being a novelty and become an economy. The IPL was five seasons old, franchise cricket had rearranged the calendar, and the international game was still working out what its own short-form World Cup was actually for. The fourth World Twenty20 was the first staged in Asia. Sri Lanka got it at the right moment: Jayawardene and Sangakkara were still at their peak, Malinga was the most feared death bowler alive, and the Premadasa filled every night.
The format was unkind to the smaller sides. Twelve teams were split into four groups of three, which gave Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe two matches each to justify the journey. None survived. Ajantha Mendis set the tone in the opening game at Sooriyawewa with 6 for 8 against Zimbabwe, still the best figures returned in a Twenty20 international. Rain then rewrote Group B. Australia's win over West Indies was awarded on Duckworth-Lewis after nine overs, and the Ireland match was abandoned before West Indies had faced a ball, which pushed Darren Sammy's side into the Super Eights on net run rate. The eventual champions very nearly did not get out of their group.
Sixes, and then silence
The Super Eights gave up two ties settled by Super Overs and a Sri Lankan side that looked untouchable at home. Shane Watson was scoring at will for Australia, 249 runs in all, more than anyone else managed. Those were the two teams most people expected in the final. Instead West Indies took Australia apart in the semi-final, Chris Gayle making 75 not out in a total of 205, and walked out in front of a packed Premadasa that had come to watch a coronation.
For six overs they got one. West Indies were 14 for 2, Gayle scratching about on 3 from 16 balls, Angelo Mathews having opened with a wicket-maiden. What came next was one of the strangest innings the tournament has produced. Marlon Samuels made 78 from 56 balls with six sixes and took 54 runs off Malinga's four overs on his own. West Indies added 108 in the last ten and closed on 137 for 6, a total that looked twenty short and proved twenty too many. Sunil Narine bowled 3.4 overs for nine. Sri Lanka collapsed to 69 for 7 and were bowled out for 101.
What changed
It was the West Indies' first world title since 1979 and their first ICC trophy of any kind since 2004, won by a side assembled for the format rather than borrowed from the Test team. Sri Lanka's wait for a global trophy went on. And this was the last twelve-team edition; from 2014 the field grew to sixteen, which altered both who got an invitation and how long they stayed.