Cricket: Nigeria Defeats Eswatini By 5 Wickets
Nigeria extend its unbeaten run with a five wicket victory against Eswatini on Match Day 3 of the ongoing International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Sub Regional Qualifier C.
The game played at the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) oval 1 of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja saw the Nigerian team survive what looked like an early scare from the visitors.
With 16 runs on board in the very first over, Eswatini’s decision to bat looked to be in their favour as they ended the powerplay on 62/0, with a run rate of 10.33. Adil Butt and Tarun Sandeep’s partnership was a great concern for the Nigerians, with the breakthrough coming off spinner Isaac Danladi in the 6.4 overs sending Sandeep to the pavilion.
Danladi’s effort exposed Eswatini’s batting line up, as that breakthrough was welcomed with wickets tumbling at intervals, with the rest of the batting order unable to score above four runs in their spell.
Eswatini will certainly be thankful to openers Sandeep 17 off 19 and an incredible knock of 88 off 60 off Butt’s bat, who played not out, as the visitors finished 137/7 in 20 overs.
In response, Nigeria took the fight to the bowlers, finding boundary and maximum at breaks, to the cheers of local fans, in spite losing five wickets in the process.
Usual suspects and openers Sulaimon Runsewe’s 19 off 15 and Selim Salau’s 31 off 20 set the tone for the home side alongside contributions from Isaac Danladi 28 off 14, and Olayinka Olaleye 31 off 20 to wrap up the match 138/5 in with 30 balls to spare.
Danladi was the Player of the Match with his batting stats of 28 off 14 and bowling figures of 3/13 inspiring the team to a 5 wickets victory.
Nigeria will now face West African rivals Sierra Leone on Wednesday in the six-team tournament. The other teams include Botswana, Saint Helena and Cote d’Iviore. The top two teams from the tournament qualifies to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa qualifier in 2025.
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