Nigeria 148 (19.4 overs) beat Uganda 147/9 (20 overs) by one run. NCF Oval 1, Abuja, Sunday 25 OctoberToss: Nigeria, chose to batPlayer of the Match: Isaac Danladi (Nigeria)
UGANDA needed four runs from the last two balls. They scored two, and Juma Miyagi was run out by Chima Akachukwu and Sylvester Okpe off the final delivery, leaving Uganda on 147/9 and handing hosts Nigeria a one-run win at NCF Oval 1 in Abuja on Sunday.
The result means Nigeria finish the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Africa Qualifier C with five wins from five, ahead of Uganda on four wins. Both teams had already qualified for the 2027 Africa Regional Final, where they will join Tanzania, Ghana, Rwanda and Kenya.
Uganda’s defeat was their first of the tournament. It came against the side their head coach, Steve Tikolo, led until January.
Chasing 149, Uganda lost Raghav Dhawan for six and Robinson Obuya for 12 inside three overs, both to Abdullahi Ismail, leaving them on 21/2.
Captain Riazat Ali Shah scored 60 off 36 balls, with three fours and five sixes. He shared a third-wicket stand of 78 with Gerald Olipa before Sylvester Okpe had Olipa caught by substitute fielder Peter Aho for 18 at 99/3. Okpe then bowled Riazat at 108/4 in the 14th over.
Akachukwu had Sumeet Verma caught by Isaac Danladi for 12, and Isaac Okpe trapped Kenneth Waiswa lbw first ball, leaving Uganda on 117/6.
Alpesh Ramjani (20 off 18 balls) and wicketkeeper Cyrus Kakuru (11 off 11) added 26 for the seventh wicket. Isaac Okpe had Ramjani caught by Ridwan Abdulkareem at 143/7 at the end of the 19th over. Kakuru was run out by Ali Rahmon at 145/8 with two balls left, and Miyagi’s run-out followed.
Ismail took 2/30, Isaac Okpe 2/18 and Sylvester Okpe 2/14. Akachukwu took 1/22.
Nigeria won the toss and chose to bat. Selim Salau and Danladi put on 68 for the first wicket in 7.2 overs, their third opening stand of more than 50 in the tournament.
Joseph Baguma removed Salau, caught by Dhawan for 30, and Isaac Okpe, caught behind for six, in the eighth over. He then had Danladi caught by Verma for 47 off 28 balls, which included three fours and four sixes, at 91/3. Danladi was named Player of the Match.
Rahmon scored 35 off 23 balls with three fours and two sixes before Ramjani bowled him at 129/6. Nigeria lost their last 10 wickets for 80 runs and were bowled out for 148 in 19.4 overs, the first time they had been dismissed in the tournament.
Baguma finished with 4/21 from four overs and Miyagi 2/17. Ramjani, Waiswa and Enock Kasaija took a wicket each.
Danladi scored 223 runs in his three innings, and Salau 206 in four. Isaac Okpe took nine wickets.
For Uganda, Kasaija took 11 wickets, and Baguma and Miyagi 10 each. Uganda bowled out all five of their opponents.
Sunday’s result follows the qualification of Nigeria’s Under-19 women’s team for the 2027 ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup. They beat Zimbabwe by four runs in the final of the Africa Qualifier Division 1 in Dar es Salaam in September, completing an unbeaten campaign, and will join South Africa as Africa’s representatives at the tournament in Bangladesh and Nepal. In that final, Nigeria scored 98 and bowled Zimbabwe out for 94 with one ball remaining.
The same age group finished sixth at the 2025 ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia, and the senior women’s team won bronze at the 2023 African Games in Ghana. In July 2026, the Nigeria Cricket Federation won the ICC criiio Cricket Festival of the Year award for its “Breaking Barriers” festival for girls in Zamfara State.
Nigeria men’s head coach Steve Mangongo, appointed in July, said at his unveiling that his target was to take Nigeria to the World Cup by 2028.
Nigeria top the group with five wins, ahead of Uganda on four. Mozambique and Zambia finish with two wins each, and Lesotho and The Gambia with one each. Net run rate decides the order between the teams level on wins.
Zimbabwe’s Iknow Chabi and South Africa’s Stephen Harris were the on-field umpires.
