Five star Akeal Hosein leads New York Strikers to final against Deccan Gladiators

Akeal Hosein posted best-ever Abu Dhabi T10 bowling figures to lead New York Strikers to a final against defending champions Deccan Gladiators.

Hosein took five wickets for six runs, including a hat-trick, in his two overs as the Strikers ended Morrisville Samp Army’s six-match winning streak in Qualifier One at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Friday.

The left-arm spinner from the West Indies had the Samp Army reeling at 13-5 in the third over to help restrict them to 80-9 in reply to the Strikers’ total of 121-5.

Hosein bowled an arm-ball that got through Andries Gouz’s defence before having Dewald Brewis caught off a leading edge by Chamika Karunaratne. Ibrahim Zadran then played on from another arm-ball as Hosein clinched his hat-trick, the eighth player to do so in the history of the Abu Dhabi T10. The spinner also snared Faf du Plessis and Najibullah Zadran.

“It’s a great feeling to get into the record books,” Hosein said. “It was basically using what was working for me on the night. I’m a spinner but if the ball is swinging, and if that works for me, I stick to that, and just execute as much as possible for my team.

“The first time I played this format I got some advice from the legend Dwayne Bravo, and he said, ‘When you get here, see it as a challenge’, particularly when bowling during the powerplay. So, I came here with an open mind and to challenge myself.”

Samp Army elected to field first and began with an excellent first over from Jason Holder, conceding just one run. Karim Janat went for a six and a four in the first four deliveries in the next but bowled Muhammad Waseem (8) with the help of a thick inside edge as Strikers were 13-1 in the second over.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz cut loose in the fourth. The Afghan