Happy Birthday Alzarri Joseph: Top Spells by the Enigmatic West Indian Pacer As He Turns 23

West Indian Pacer Alzarri Joseph will celebrate his 23rd birthday on Wednesday (November 20, 2019). A tall fast-bowler who can generate some serious pace, Alzarri Joseph announced his arrival when he picked up 13 wickets in six games in the U-19 World Cup. The West-Indies under-19s player made his first-class debut for the Leewards Islands during the 2014-15 Regional Four Day Competition. Joseph plays for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League and has been there since the 2016 season. On the occasion of his 23rd birthday, we take a look at some of the top performances by the West Indies pacer. IPL 2020 Balance Sheet Of All 8 Franchises: Here are Total Money Spent and Salary Cap Available for Teams Ahead of Indian Premier League Season 13 Auction.

The Antiguan came into limelight during an IPL 2019 match between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he took six wickets for just 12 runs in his 3.4 overs. Joseph took three wickets in the final against India, dismissing their top three batsmen and guided West Indies to their first-ever U19 World Cup title. In July 2016, the young pacer was added to the West Indies squad for their Test series against India and made his debut on August 9, 2016 in the third match of the series. Later that year, Joseph made his ODI debut against Pakistan on October 2, 2016. Let’s take a look at the top performances by Alzarri Joseph. Zaheer Khan Explains Mumbai Indians’ Trade Strategy Ahead of IPL 2020, Says ‘Team Needed Strength Around Bowling Department’.

7/46 vs Windward Islands, November 2015

Windward Islands wrapped up the match in just two days as they won the game by eight wickets. A match in which the Leeward Islands had very little to celebrate about, 19-year old Joseph – playing his fourth first-class game – was a bright spark. The young pacer took 7 wickets for 46 runs and recorded the best figures of the tournament at that time.

4/41 vs St Lucia Zouks, July 2016

Match 21 of the 2016 edition of CPL saw St Lucia Zouks take on St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. Joseph was the star performer for the Patriots as he took four wickets in his spell. The pacer sent Johnson Charles and Darren Sammy back to the pavilion before cleaning up the Zouks lower order. His efforts went in vain as the Patriots lost the match by 35 runs.

5/56 vs England, September 2017

The fourth ODI in West Indies’ 2017 tour of England saw the home side win by 6 runs via D/L method. A match where all the other Caribbean bowlers failed to make an impact young Joseph finished the match with the figures of 5/56. The home side lost five wickets in the match and all of them were taken by Alzarri Joseph. Evil Lewis also scored 176 of 130 balls in that match.

6/12 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, April 2019

Alzarri Joseph’s IPL debut was one to remember as the Antiguan pacer recorded the best ever figures in IPL history. He dismissed the dangerous David Warner on his very first delivery and then removed Vijay Shankar in his second over. In his second spell, he dismissed Deepak Hooda before running past the Hyderabad tail and finishing the match with six wickets. He broke Sohail Tanvir’s record of best IPL figures (6/14) for the Rajasthan Royals in 2008.

Joseph played for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in this year’s CPL and helped them to reach the knockout rounds where they eventually lost to Trinbago knight Riders in the Eliminator. Alzarri Joseph will be available for the IPL 2020 auction which will be held on December 19, as the West Indian pacer was released by Mumbai Indians after a successful first season.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 20, 2019 08:40 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).