Nigeria’s Junior YellowGreens revived their ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup qualification hopes on Monday with a commanding five-wicket victory over Ghana in Rwanda.
Nigeria’s bowlers set up the victory by dismissing Ghana for just 93 runs in 39.5 overs. Kenneth Boniface led the attack with four wickets for 33 runs, while Precious Ayeni took two wickets for nine runs.
Chasing 94 for victory, Nigeria initially slipped to 56 for four and later lost a fifth wicket at 77. However, Boniface remained unbeaten on 30 from 32 balls, while Andrew Abah and Peculiar Egemasi contributed 20 and 17 runs respectively to guide Nigeria to 96 for five in 22.2 overs.
Boniface was named Player of the Match for his all-round performance. Captain Rahmon Ali praised the bowling unit but admitted that the batting side needed to improve after losing five wickets while chasing a modest target.
The victory was an important response to Nigeria’s opening-day defeat to Uganda. The Junior YellowGreens will next face hosts Rwanda on Wednesday, before meeting Mozambique and Sierra Leone as they continue their qualification campaign.
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