T20 World Cup debutants Uganda realized the gulf between playing regional teams and the top-ranked sides in the ICC T20I rankings as they registered the lowest total ever recorded in the history of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup while playing at Providence Stadium in Guyana in the 18th match against co-hosts West Indies.
Akeal Hosein was wrecker-in-chief for West Indies as the left-arm off-spinner spun a web around the Uganda batters. Hosein recorded the second-best bowling figures by a West Indian in T20I history. Notably, this is the biggest T20I win for West Indies in terms of margin of runs.
Uganda’s batting order fell like a pack of cards as none of their batters had an answer to Akeal Hosein’s well-disguised arm-ball. Hosein finished with 5/10 in his four-over spell to record the best bowling figures for West Indies in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Hosein’s spell helped West Indies register the second-biggest win in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in terms of margin of runs. West Indies emerged victorious by 134 runs and are now consolidating their second spot in Group C behind Afghanistan.
Coming back to the fixture, Hosein claimed the best bowling figures ever recorded by a West Indian in a Men’s T20 World Cup game as he shattered Samuel Badree’s decade-old record. Badree had bagged 4/15 against Bangladesh in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2014 at the Sher-E-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.
Uganda never recovered from Hosein’s terrific spell and got bundled out for 39 in just 12 overs, equalling the lowest total in T20 World Cup history. Netherlands had also registered 39 runs in a T20 World Cup 2014 fixture against Sri Lanka in Chattogram.
Earlier in the day, West Indies posted 173 runs on the board for the loss of five wickets. While Johnson Charles (44 off 42 balls) was the highest scorer for the Windies, it was Andre Russell’s 17-ball 30* that injected momentum into the team’s run rate.
West Indies skipper Rovman Powell seemed pleased with the win and emphasized getting better with every game in the tournament despite the ever-present pressure of performing at home.
“We talk about improving 10-15% every match. Last game, we were flat so we just wanted to improve as a team. When you are playing at home, the pressure can sometimes get to you. So, a little bit of rust (in the first match). We started off at 60%, now up to 70-80% and from here, it gets tougher,” said Powell during the post-match presentation.