Akeal Hosein has become the seventh player to claim 50 T20I wickets for the West Indies. The left-arm off-spinner achieved the remarkable feat during the 2nd T20I between West Indies and South Africa at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad.
Hosein dismissed Tristan Stubbs to reach the milestone on the penultimate delivery of the 14th over and derailed South Africa's chase. Stubbs was batting on 28 and was threatening to take the game away from the hosts before Hosein put an end to his progress.
Hosein also ended Rassie's struggle in the middle and allowed the Rovman Powell-led side to claw its way back into the contest. Rassie was struggling to keep up with the asking rate and got out after scoring 17 runs off 24 deliveries at a strike rate of 70.83.
Most wickets in T20Is for West Indies
| Player | Matches | Wickets | Average | Economy rate | 4-wicket haul | 5-wicket haul |
| Dwayne Bravo | 91 | 78 | 26.10 | 8.11 | 3 | - |
| Jason Holder | 63 | 66 | 28.87 | 8.57 | 2 | 1 |
| Andre Russell | 82 | 60 | 30.23 | 9.23 | - | - |
| Samuel Badree | 50 | 54 | 20.75 | 6.09 | 1 | - |
| Sunil Narine | 51 | 52 | 21.25 | 6.01 | 1 | - |
| Sheldon Cottrell | 45 | 52 | 23.92 | 8.13 | 1 | - |
| Akeal Hosein | 59 | 51 | 28.88 | 7.36 | 1 | 1 |
West Indies take unassailable lead in T20I series
The West Indies T20I captain Rovman Powell was pleased with the way his team made a comeback in the match after getting hammered in the powerplay. The pair of Reeza Hendricks and Ryan Rickleton had got South Africa to a flyer in the powerplay and therefore it took a disciplined effort from the Player of the Match (POTM) Roamrio Shepherd and Shamar Joseph to restrict them to 149.
"We put the pressure after the powerplay. Wickets would bring us back in the game. T20 cricket can change very fast. I'm pretty excited [with Athanaze]... Brandon King is our No. 1 opener, and he is not here. It's always good to beat such a good team. They are a quality team, nevertheless. It has become a regular here in Trinidad - we are forever grateful to the people of Trinidad," Rovman said during the post-match presentation.
