Nigeria Cricket senior men’s team have secured their place in the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier finals after a remarkable performance throughout the qualifying rounds.
The Nigeria cricket team achieved this milestone with one match still to play. The Yellow Greens, as they are fondly called, capped off their impressive run at the sub-regional C qualifiers with a resounding victory over Botswana, winning the tournament title convincingly by 77 runs.
The final match took place at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja on Thursday, where the dual cricket ovals served as the battleground for this decisive encounter.
Heading into the championship game, both Nigeria and Botswana were locked in a tie with eight points each, making the clash not only significant for qualification but also a thrilling title decider.
Nigeria won the crucial toss and opted to bat first, quickly setting the tone for the match. The opening batsmen put on a solid performance, with Sulaimon Runsewe leading the charge with a brisk 74 runs off 53 balls, while Isaac Danladi played explosively, contributing 80 runs from just 45 balls.
This dynamic partnership propelled Nigeria to a formidable total of 181 runs for the loss of five wickets throughout their 20 overs.
In response, Botswana, captained by Karabo Motlhanka, began their innings with determination but struggled to build any momentum.
Their chase was hampered as they did not even accumulate a century of runs until the 15th over, reflecting the effectiveness of Nigeria’s bowling attack.
The standout player of the match, Ridwan Abdulkareem, delivered a phenomenal performance with the ball, claiming an impressive six wickets. His clinical bowling display helped restrict Botswana to a mere 104 runs, leading to their dismissal in just 18.2 overs.
With this victory, Nigeria finished the series at the top of the standings, remaining unbeaten with a perfect record of 10 points. Botswana, despite their loss, secured the second position with a commendable eight points.
With their successful qualification, Nigeria and Botswana will join the ranks of other qualifiers, including Tanzania and Malawi from Qualifier A, and Zimbabwe and Kenya from Qualifier B. They will also compete alongside Namibia and Uganda, who represented Africa in the last T20 World Cup and have received a bye to the regional finals.
The top two teams from this final qualifying phase will move on to represent Africa in the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup, set to take place in India and Sri Lanka, joining South Africa as Africa’s representatives in the tournament.
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