29 November, 2024

Match Day 5 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub Regional Africa Qualifier C

Media Release

Ridwan Abdulkareem’s heroic 6/22 against Botswana ensures Nigeria finishes unbeaten, clinch title
Saint Helena defeat Cote d’ Ivoire, secure first win of the tournament
Sierra Leone too good for Eswatini, beating the Southern Africans by 109 runs

Cote d’Ivoire v Saint Helena

Cote d’ Ivoire got off to a slow start on the final match day but a better approach with the bat compared to their previous game against Eswatini where openers Ouattara Mohamed and captain Dosso Issiaka were dismissed for a duck.

Winning the toss and batting first, Mohamed 5(13) and Issiaka 2(17) needed to take charge of the innings, but their efforts would mean the newcomers will have to wait a while for a first international win.

Apart from contributions from Kouakou Wilfried (9 off 42), the rest of the line-up failed to account for much as the tail enders were sent back to the stands, without bothering the scorers.

It was Saint Helena’s Jordan Yon who led the onslaught against the debutants with magnificent figures of 4/3, well supported by Scott Crowie 2/5 as well as Aiden Leo 2/7, restricting the boys from Yamoussoukro to 26 all out in 18.4 overs.

In reply, a very confident Saint Helena needed a meagre two overs to secure a first victory in Abuja. Opening batters Crowie 10(6) and Andrew Yon 7(6) made light work of the target, quickly racing to 27, thanks to the 10 extras. The Islanders won by 10 wickets, finishing the tournament in fifth position.

Sierra Leone v Eswatini

Sierra Leone won the toss and opted to bat first but it was Eswatini who made quick inroads with the ball, looking to cause an upset early in the game.

Sierra Leone were 4/2 after the first over with Aruna Kainessie gone for a golden duck from the first ball of the innings—credit to Adil Butt’s bowling. Butt struck again with the fourth ball of the over, dismissing Yegbeh Jalloh.

With pressure on the Patriots, Alusine Turay bore the weight for the side with his 17 off 13 to steady the game, supported by George Ngegba’s 14 off 13.

The rest of the batters struggled to come to the party but a huge sigh of relief for the Patriots came through the partnership of 87 between tail enders Chernoh Bah and captain Lansana Lamin, both returning unbeaten.

Bah’s 43 off 34 and Lamin’s 52 off 34 inspired Sierra Leone to 155/8 in their allotted 20 overs.

It was a slow approach in the chase for Eswatini with just Rohan Sandeep’s 15(13), the only double digits for his side as George Ngegba’s 3/10 and Alusine Turay’s 3/13 rattled the Southern African’s batting line up, limiting them to 46 in 12.3 overs.

Sierra Leone won by 109 runs.

Botswana v Nigeria

In a contest to decide the winner of the tournament with both teams having qualified to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier 2025, Nigeria were the better of the two sides on the day.

Nigeria won the toss and elected to bat first, piling up 13 runs in the first over. Their acceleration was halted by Tharindu Perera who, with the breakthrough, got the wicket of opener Selim Salau 1(4) with the last ball of the second over.

Salau’s exit saw Olayinka Olayeye 0(4) dismissed almost immediately but rather than a decline, the run rate appreciated further for the Nigerian side with the introduction of Isaac Danladi.

Danladi together with Sulaimon Runsewe, put on a partnership of 140. Danladi’s brilliant knock of 80 off 45 and Runsewe’s 74 off 53 kept Nigeria in contention, sending pressure to the Baggy Blues.

The Blues weren’t tidy enough with the ball with the likes of Boemo Khumalo conceding 30 runs in just two overs and Micheal Badenhorst, leaking 21 runs in the same number of overs. The rest of the bowlers made an attempt but couldn’t keep the batters quiet as the Nigerians raced to 181/5 in 20 overs.

Captain Karabo Motlhanka’s 48 off 37 spearheaded the Botswana innings in the chase, slightly supported by Thatayaone Tshose’s 10 off 9, Tharindu Perera’s 13 off 16 and Valentine Mbazo’s 10 off 15.

The rest of the batters couldn’t account for much, thanks to the exceptional bowling prowess of Ridwan Abdulkareem with a six-wicket haul, missing out on a hat-trick in the process and ensuring the boys from Gaborone finished on 104/10 in 18.2 overs.

Nigeria captain, Sylvester Okpe said: “We are so happy to secure this victory and trophy before the home crowd. It is always a good feeling and exciting moment for us. Right from the beginning we told ourselves that we are not going down without a fight. We were very confident in ourselves and stuck to our plans in every game, and in the end it came through. I thank my team, the technical crew and Nigeria Cricket Federation for their trust in us."

Nigeria Cricket Federation President, Uyi Akpata said: “I am elated and extremely satisfied that we did not only meet but super exceeded our expectations. I give God all the glory and to all the key stakeholders who have been part of the journey, you did a great job. We can now relax and celebrate. Everybody in the world now knows that we have this fantastic twin Oval in Nigeria. We have been able to pull it off. The curators, the ground crew, the spectators and Local Organizing Committee who worked in partnership with ICC team, the media and volunteers made it an awesome event."

Nigeria’s all-rounder Danladi Isaac is the Player of the Tournament after and impressive performance with bat and ball. He earned a remarkable 208 runs and returned eight wickets with an economy of 3.78 in five innings. He finished the tournament as the second-best batter.

Match Summaries:

Cote d’ Ivoire v Saint Helena

Cote d’ Ivoire won the toss and elected to bat first

Cote d’ Ivoire: 26/10 (18.4 overs)

Saint Helena: 27/0 (2.0 overs)

Saint Helena won by 10 wickets

Pictures

Scorecard Link

Sierra Leone v Eswatini

Sierra Leone won the toss and opted to bat first

Sierra Leone: 155/8 (20.0 overs)

Eswatini: 46/10 (12.3 overs)