A career-best spell from Akeal Hosein powered West Indies to a commanding 134-run win against Uganda in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup on Saturday night in Guyana.
The 31-year-old left-arm spinner ended with 5/11 from his allotted four overs, and Uganda were bowled out for 39 – the joint lowest total in a T20 World Cup – replying to the Caribbean side’s total of 173/5 in their Group C match under the lights at the Guyana National Stadium.
Hosein’s mastery of drift and swing undermined the Ugandan batting, and strike bowler Alzarri Joseph supported with 2/6 from three overs, and not one of the batsmen from the African side reached 20, with Juma Miyago, batting at nine, finishing with the top score of 13.
Joseph formalised the result when he bowled last man Frank Nsubuga, the oldest player in the tournament, with 48 balls remaining to give the co-hosts their second win in as many matches in the tournament.
[caption id="attachment_1088967" align="alignnone" width="1024"] West Indies batsman Nicholas Pooran plays a shot against Uganda. - AP photo[/caption]
“I am quite happy with the performance,” Hosein, later named player-of-the-match, told reporters during a post-play news conference. “As we have seen already in this tournament, no one is to be taken lightly, and they have all been performing well.
“It’s not the strongest outfit (Uganda), but I judged my spell mainly on the lengths that I bowled, and I know that if I execute those lengths, it will be tough for most batsmen to play. It’s very pleasing to have the home support behind us. It’s a home World Cup for us, and we are very thankful for the support that is driving us in this tournament.”
Hosein said the home side were confident and were under no pressure heading into the game.
“I think going into the third game, we definitely are a force to reckon with,” he said.
The result meant that West Indies fortify their hold on second in the group table on four points – the same for leaders Afghanistan – with an inferior net run rate after they won their tournament opener against Papua New Guinea by five wickets last Sunday at the same venue.
The Caribbean side travel to Trinidad for their third match against New Zealand, starting at 8.30 pm on Wednesday at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, where Uganda face the same opponent two days later.
Hosein struck with his second ball – and the second of the chase – when he trapped opener Roger Mukasa leg before for a duck.
He added the scalp of Alpesh Ramjani leg before for five and bowled Riazat Ali Shah for three in a top order collapse that sent Uganda reeling to 22/5 at the close of the power play.
The tournament co-hosts continued to bag wickets at regular intervals, and Uganda crumbled to 31/8 at the halfway point of the chase with little hope of a fight back after Hosein struck twice in the seventh over, as he bowled Dinesh Nikrani for a duck and trapped Kenneth Waiswa leg before for one.
Earlier, opener Johnson Charles hit the top score of 44 off 42 balls and led
