West Indies romped to a massive victory by 134 runs against Uganda on the back of a career-best five-wicket haul by left-spinner Akeal Hosein in their second match of the International Cricket Council Men’s World T20 World Cup on Saturday night.
On a night of significant landmarks, Hosein grabbed five for 11 from four overs as Uganda, chasing 174 to win at the Guyana National Stadium, were routed for 39, the joint lowest total in a T20 World Cup match.
Using the arm ball with telling effect, Hosein trapped three of his victims lbw and bowled the other two on the way to achieving the best figures by a West Indies bowler in the history of the T20 World Cup.
It was West Indies’ second win in as many matches, following their five-wicket victory over Papua New Guinea in their opening match last Sunday at the same venue. It also extended their winning streak in T20 Internationals to a record-equalling six.
West Indies’ total of 173 for five after choosing to bat first on winning the toss was built around useful contributions from most of their batsmen.
Opener Johnson Charles topscored with 44 off 42 balls while Russell provided some impetus at the end by lashing an unbeaten 30 from 17 balls.
Captain Romvan Powell (23 off 18 balls), Sherfane Rutherford (22 off 16 balls) and Nicholas Pooran (22 off 17 balls) also helped West Indies’ cause.
Both West Indies and Afghanistan have recorded two wins in Group C, but the latter head the group on account of a higher net run-rate. (HG)
