Ongoing 2024 ICC T20 World Cup qualifiers in Namibia, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
After a loss against Kenya and a share of the points against Rwanda, the Yellow Greens shook off their slow start with a superb chase of Tanzania’s 139 runs from the first innings after the East Africans opted to bat first.
Like he did in the four-wicket loss to Kenya, Useni who was moved up the batting order by coach Steve Tikolo stepped up with critical boundaries that lifted the team when the run-rate leaked. He chalked up 31 runs off 19 balls. Sesan Adedeji also put up 24 runs off 26 balls while spin-bowler Ridwan Abdulkareem contributed 16 runs off 12 balls, including two wickets he snatched in the first innings.
The win has restored any hope of top-two finish from the seven nation qualifiers for Nigeria as they face Uganda on Monday at the United Cricket ground.
Nigeria’s captain Sylvester Okpe said the team knew nothing would do at this stage of the game outside a win.
“It was a win we needed, we have no excuse but to lock down this win. 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 needed win.”
Also, president of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Uyi AKpata, who joined the team in Windhoek on Sunday said the interesting part of the win was the confidence the team played with.
“We would love to pick the World Cup ticket, but that is a bit difficult now given the results of our last two matches. We are more focused on using this event as a measure of our continual development programme for the team.”
Other nations battling for the 2024 T20 World Cup ticket include Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and host Namibia.
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