Nigeria 65/3 (7.4 overs) beat Lesotho 62 (12.5 overs) by seven wickets
NCF Oval 2, Abuja, Saturday 24 October
Toss: Lesotho, chose to bat
Player of the Match: Chima Akachukwu (Nigeria)
HOSTS Nigeria made it four wins from four at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Africa Qualifier C, bowling Lesotho out for 62 and reaching the target with 74 balls remaining. Captain Chima Akachukwu took 3/6 from 2.1 overs, including a maiden, and Elochukwu Ndubudem 3/12 from 3.5 overs.
With Uganda also on four wins and no other side able to reach that total, Nigeria and Uganda have both secured their places at the Africa Regional Final in 2027.
Kenneth Boniface trapped Lerotholi Gabriel lbw for 4 in the first over. Mohmed Duvesh Patel scored 8 off six balls before he was caught by wicketkeeper Selim Salau off Mohameed Taiwo at 16/2. Boniface then had Lebona Leokaoke caught by Vincent Adewoye for 4 at 22/3.
Lesotho lost five wickets for three runs. Akachukwu bowled Chachole Tlali for 4 and Inshaf Farook for a first-ball duck in the sixth over. Ndubudem bowled Maaz Khan for 2 and trapped Lefulere Monanthane lbw for 0, and Akachukwu trapped Gladwin Thamae lbw for 1, leaving Lesotho on 25/8 in the eighth over.
Captain Ts’episo Chaoana finished unbeaten on 26 off 18 balls, with three fours and a six. He added 25 for the ninth wicket with Tanki Khetsi, who made 7 before he was caught by Ridwan Abdulkareem off Ndubudem at 50/9. Malei Khauta was run out by Salau and Akachukwu to end the innings in the 13th over.
Boniface took 2/14 from two overs and Taiwo 1/2 from one.
In reply, Chaoana trapped Sylvester Okpe lbw with the first ball of the chase. Farook then bowled Boniface for 1 and Adewoye for a first-ball duck with successive deliveries in the second over, leaving Nigeria on 12/3.
Abdulkareem (28 not out off 18 balls, with three fours and a six) and Miracle Akhigbe (26 not out off 25, with four fours) added an unbroken 53 to complete the chase in the eighth over.
Farook took 2/19 from three overs and Chaoana 1/21 from three.
Rwanda’s Gaston Niyibizi and Botswana’s Justine Muzungu were the on-field umpires.
Lesotho have now lost three of their four matches.
On Sunday, Nigeria meet Uganda at 13:50 on NCF Oval 1 to decide first place in the group. Lesotho play The Gambia at 09:30 on the same ground.
