Cricket: Nigeria’s Yellow Greens Secure Victory Against Tanzania
Nigeria’s men’s cricket team, the Yellow Greens, secured a three-wicket victory against Tanzania in a nail-biting match to reignite its hopes in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup African Qualifiers, in Windhoek, Namibia on Sunday.
The Yellow Greens, who needed a win against Tanzania to restore any hope of top-two finish from the seven-nation qualifiers, were returning to the United Cricket ground after its slip up against Kenya on Thursday and draw against Rwanda on Friday.
Nigeria’s Captain, Sylvester Okpe, said the team knew nothing would do at this stage of the game outside a win.
Nigeria win by 3 wickets#yellowgreens #nigeriacricket pic.twitter.com/I0trO5RYQk
— Nigeria Cricket Federation (@cricket_nigeria) November 26, 2023
“It was a win we needed, we had no excuse but to lock down this win,” Okpe said after the victory over Tanzania.
“Our match against Kenya wasn’t what he had hoped for and a rain-washed Rwandan encounter that saw us share points, didn’t help our cause. So, this was a much needed win,”
Captain Abhik Patwa scored 52 runs, off 40 balls, while Ivan Selemani posted 26 from 22 balls containing Nigeria’s pace bowlers in the process.
Prosper Useni’s explosive innings of 31 runs off 19 balls stole the show, earning him the well-deserved Player of the Match award.
Nigeria will continue the quest for the World Cup ticket with an encounter against Uganda on Monday, November 27th at the United Cricket ground at 2:00 pm.
Other nations battling for the 2024 T20 World Cup ticket include Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and host Namibia.
