Cricket: Nigeria wins West Africa Trophy
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Nigeria wins West Africa Cricket Championships |Photo Credit: X: @cricket_nigeria

Cricket: Nigeria wins West Africa Trophy

Hassan Abdulsalam 13:07 - 16.10.2023

The final of the West Africa Trophy was played on Sunday at the Tafawa Balewa Cricket Oval in Lagos.

Nigeria has won the maiden edition of the West Africa Trophy, edging off a tenacious Rwanda team by 18 runs in the final.

The match was played on Sunday at the Tafawa Balewa Cricket Oval in Lagos.

Steve Tikolo's team staged an incredible comeback to defeat the invited East Africans, who came dangerously close to stealing what would have been Nigeria's lone victory throughout the 10-day competition.

In the first innings, Nigeria batted, but the Yellow Greens didn't appear like the squad that had defeated Rwanda three times earlier in the competition after dropping three wickets in the powerplay.

But Man-of-The-Match, Isaac Danladi, and newly promoted Junior Yellow Greens captain, Ridwan Abdulkareem, eventually formed a strong partnership for Nigeria on the turf, as the Yellow Greens fought back and pushed themselves beyond the century mark.

Before being dismissed, Danladi had 44 runs, and Abdulkareem had 39 runs before being dismissed with the final delivery of the first innings.

The Yellow Greens scored 103 runs for the loss of seven wickets, and the supporters couldn't be more proud, despite losing two more wickets in the 20th over.

The second innings for Rwanda got off to a similarly strong start as the first, scoring five runs per over with the first 30 balls and only losing one wicket in the first 10 overs.

Lee Booth's team was only able to score 63 runs after 16 overs because to improved Nigerian bowling, and after six more wickets fell, their 104-run total was far beyond their reach.

After that, Chimelie Udekewe took the seventh wicket for Nigeria, who won all 10 of their games to conclude the game in impressive fashion and become undefeated in the tournament.

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