How Shane Warne's Taunts Fired Up Marlon Samuels In World T20

Marlon Samuels has proven that he is a big match player. In the 2012 World T20 final, Samuels blasted 78 off 56 balls against Sri Lanka in Colombo to give West Indies their first World T20 title. In the 2016 edition, Samuels lit up the Eden Gardens with a blazing, unbeaten 85 off 66 balls against England to help the West Indies become the first team to win the World T20 twice. (Marlon Samuels Takes Pot Shots at Warne After West Indies Win)
 
However, Samuels' knock in Kolkata had plenty of emotion and determination. It was due to the taunts of former Australia legspinner, Shane Warne, which fired up Samuels for this summit clash. (Didn't Want to Leave Marlon Samuels Under Pressure: Carlos Brathwaite)
 
Warne's criticism of Samuels in the semi-final
 
During the India-West Indies semi-final in Mumbai, Samuels was dismissed by Ashish Nehra for 8. Warne, who was on commentary, criticised the manner of his dismissal.
 
"For your No.3, Samuels, in such a big game, that's an embarrassing dismissal. That's pretty poor," Warne had said on-air.
 
Following his match-winning knock, Samuels took a dig at Warne when he was presented with his Man of the Match award. He said, "Warne has been talking continuously and all I want to say is 'this is for Shane Warne'. I answer with the bat, not the mic."
 
During the post-match press conference, he continued to have a dig at Warne. "Warne has a problem with me. I've never disrespected him. I don't appreciate the way he continues to talk about me and the things that he keeps doing. Maybe, my face is real and his is not."
 
Speaking to NDTV, former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said that this incident fired up Samuels. "Different players use criticisms in a different way. Samuels has used this to motivate himself and play really well. His statement at the end showed that he was very determined to win the match."
 
Samuels and Warne's volatile history
 
Warne and Samuels have had a volatile history. It all started in the 2013 Big Bash League, when the two were involved in an ugly on-field altercation. In 2016, during a Test match in Sydney, Samuels was involved in a run-out with Kraigg Brathwaite and this was also heavily criticised by Warne.