Akeal Hosein’s Fifer Fashions West Indies’ 134-Run Win Over Uganda

Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein worked his inimitable sorcery with a fifer as hosts West Indies hammered Uganda by 134 runs in the T20 World Cup in Guyana. Hosein knocked the wind out of the Uganda batting unit with career-best figures of 5/11, helping West Indies bowl out Uganda for 39 in 12 overs, the joint-lowest team total in the men’s T20 World Cup. This was after Johnson Charles (44) emerged the top scorer while Andre Russell (30 not out) provided the hosts with the final push to help West Indies post a challenging 173/5.

The win has boosted West Indies’ Net Run Rate to a healthy 3.574, which will help them in their bid to finish in the top two in Group C.

The gulf between the two sides was evident when the West Indies bowlers were operating.

As was the case in their previous two games, Uganda’s top order fell like ninepins with half the side back in the dugout inside the Powerplay.

Opening the bowling, Hosein picked three wickets in as many overs. He struck off the second ball of the innings with Roger Mukasa becoming his first victim.

He came back to trap Alpesh Amjani leg-before wicket in the third over. Riazar Ali Shah became his third victim an over later.

The Ugandan batters just couldn’t read Hosein as the spinner picked two more wickets in his last over to register his maiden five-wicket haul and also the best figures by a West Indian bowler at the T20 World Cup.

Earlier, Brandon King (13) and Charles, who was dropped on 23 in the fourth over, scored at a quick pace to give West Indies a solid start after skipper Rovman Powell decided to bat first.

But left-arm spinner Alpesh Ramjani cleaned up King to provide Uganda their first breakthrough.

New batter Nicholas Pooran (22) took a couple of deliveries to settle in before going down on one knee, launching the ball hight over deep mid-wicket for a maximum.

Charles and Pooran continued to hit the maximums every over before Uganda skipper Brian Masaba (2/31) cut short the latter’s stay by completing a caught and bowled.

Masaba and off-spinner Frank Nsubuga (0/29) bowled with control and discipline as Uganda kept striking at regular intervals, deflating West Indies’ momentum.

The Ugandans bowled 53 dot balls.

Charles, who was struggling to get the big shots, was next to go as he sent the ball straight to Ramjani at long on.

Shane Rutherford (22) smacked a six and a boundary in the next two overs before Masaba got his counterpart in the 16th over after Powell failed to get the desired elevation.

The big-hitting Russell then sent the ball to the fence six times to help West Indies add 49 runs in the last five overs.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)