West Indies had an evening to forget in the opening game of their T20 World Cup title defence in Dubai on Saturday. Playing against ODI world champions England, West Indies suffered a shocking batting collapse as they were bowled out for a paltry total of 55. Adil Rashid picked four wickets for England, giving away just two runs, to follow up on the bright start provided by the likes of Moeen Ali and Tymal Mills and finish off the defending champions’ innings in less than 15 overs.

England went on to win the game with six wickets and 70 balls to spare. West Indies, however, did find a few drops of joy amid an ocean of tears as their bowlers gave the opposition batters a few nervy moments.

Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein was the main mischief-maker as he took two English wickets. Both his wickets – of Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone – were followthrough catches off his own bowling.

His dismissal of Livingstone, in particular, was one of the highlights of the day as he took a sensational catch to send the England batter back to the pavilion.

After Livingstone gave away a leading edge, Hosein acrobatically dived to his left and caught the ball with his left hand.

Promoted

ICC later shared the video with the following caption: “Akeal Hosein are you kidding me?!?! How good was this catch?”

Despite the occasional hiccup in their chase, England never looked in danger of falling short of their target.

Having lost four wickets, they chased down the target in the ninth over to open their campaign with a commanding victory.

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