Nigeria has won the second edition of the West Africa Trophy Cricket tournament in Abuja.
Nigeria’s senior men’s team, also known as the Yellow Greens, defeated Rwanda by 40 runs to lift the trophy for the second time at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Nigeria won the toss and opted to bat first, with contributions from each batter helping the hosts post 157 runs.
The home team made good use of the powerplay (the first six overs), scoring 30 without loss after three overs.
The 30-run partnership between captain Sulaimon Runsewe and Rahmon Ali was broken in the fourth over when Ali was bowled out by Igance Ntirenganya of Rwanda.
Ali, who scored 11 runs off 10 balls, was replaced by Selim Salau.
Salau’s 25 runs off 25 balls pushed Nigeria to 93 before he fell to the excellent bowling of Muhammad Nadir, with the ball piercing the middle stump.
The middle-order batters complemented the openers as Isaac Danladi, Vincent Adewoye, and Sylvester Okpe ensured a current run rate of 7.85 per over.
Nigeria finished on 157/5 in their allotted 20 overs.
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In the chase, Rwanda started well, with a 50-run opening partnership between Khan Hamza and Didier Ndikubwima helping to build momentum for the visitors.
However, just after the powerplay, Hamza lost his wicket, and Rwanda’s momentum dipped, as they required five more overs to score an additional 20 runs.
Efforts by fellow opener Ndikubwima, who scored 33 off 38 balls, supported by Jean Iradukunda’s 25 not out off 23 balls, were insufficient to save the day.
Thanks to the bowling prowess of the Nigerian side, spearheaded by Isaac Okpe, Joshua Asia, and Elochukwu Ndudubem, who took two wickets each in their four-over spells, Rwanda were restricted to 117/9 in 20 overs. Nigeria won by 40 runs.
Earlier in the tournament, each team played nine games. Nigeria won eight and lost just one to Rwanda, while Rwanda won six games, losing twice to Nigeria and once to Zambia.
Zambia won three of their nine games, while Sierra Leone finished at the bottom with one win in nine matches.
The final on Sunday was the 10th game for Nigeria and Rwanda, with Nigeria’s victory allowing them to retain the title they won in the first edition in 2023 in Lagos.
Notably, some individual performances were recognised. Nigeria’s Isaac Danladi was awarded Best Batter of the tournament, scoring 324 runs, while Rwanda’s Muhammad Nadir emerged as Best Bowler with 15 wickets.
Nigeria’s Isaac Okpe and Rwanda’s Emile Rukiriza finished second and third in the bowling charts with the same number of wickets, but Nadir had a better economy rate.
Nigeria’s captain Runsewe received the Best Fielder award, recording 11 dismissals in 10 games, while Zambia’s Zoyeb Chand was recognised as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Zambia secured third place after beating Sierra Leone by 20 runs earlier in the day
