India, Feb. 2 -- A home World Cup final was meant to be Sri Lanka's moment. Instead, it became the night West Indies walked into Colombo, absorbed a stadium's expectations, and left with the 2012 T20 World Cup - their first title in the tournament and a rare ICC summit after years of near-misses.

The numbers were blunt. West Indies posted 137/6, then dismissed Sri Lanka for 101 in 18.4 overs to win by 36 runs - a final decided by control more than chaos, and by a team that handled the surface better when it mattered most.

The story of the 2012 edition is often told through flair - Caribbean swagger, big-hitting reputations, celebrations. But the trophy was won through something less glamorous: reading conditions faster than everyone els...