In a disappointing start to their campaign at the International Cricket Council’s T20 Men’s World Cup Qualifier, the Nigerian males Cricket team, known as the Yellow-Greens, suffered a defeat to Kenya by four wickets on Thursday.

The match took place at the United’s Cricket Ground, where Kenya won the toss and elected to field. This decision put Sylvester Okpe and his teammates under pressure to set a competitive target in the first inning.

Despite their efforts, the Nigerian team could only manage to score 121 runs.

Danladi Isaac emerged as the top scorer for Nigeria, contributing 46 runs from 46 balls. Prosper Useni also made a valuable contribution with 37 runs from 19 balls.

These were the two best scores for the Yellow-Greens in the inning.

In the second inning, Kenya displayed a strong batting performance and successfully chased down the required 122 runs.

They remained in control throughout the match, with Shem Ngoche hitting Chiemelie Udekwe for a remarkable 19 runs in the 19th over.

This reduced the required runs to just 5 balls in the closing 20th over, which Kenya achieved in 19.5 overs.

Expressing his disappointment, Tayo Atoloye, the leader of Nigeria’s delegation at the event and representative of the South West on the board of Nigeria Cricket Federation, described the loss as painful. He emphasized that the victory was within reach for the Yellow-Greens, making the defeat even more disheartening.

“ The 19th was a critical over and we lost it to the experience and the superior strategy needed at the time. But again, there a lot of positives to take home here. Nigeria’s bowling was great and we fielded better than any match we have played of late.” He said.

“Nigeria is obviously playing better than their ranking presently and this gladdens us and justifies our investments in the team.” He added.

The Yellow Greens will play Rwanda on the Wanderers Cricket Grounds on Friday.

The post Nigeria Loses Opening Match in ICC T20 Men’s World Cup Qualifier appeared first on Latest Sports News In Nigeria.

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