By Victor Kanayo
Nigeria on Sunday April 2 2023, won the third edition of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, (NCF) Women’s T20i Invitational tournament, after beating Rwanda by nine runs at the Tafawa Balewa Cricket Oval in Lagos.
The match, which was a repeat of the final game at 2022 edition, pitched Nigeria against arch-rival Rwanda, defending champion.
Heritage Times HT reports that Nigeria had won the toss and elected to bat, which led to a hard-fought first inning, with 99 runs on board.
Usual suspects, Salome Sunday, 48(58) and Piety Lucky 11(17) led with the bat, as they were the top batting performances for the hosts. They raced through the inning for the loss of four wickets in 20 overs.
The second innings meant Nigeria had to defend the total with a good fielding strategy.
Rwanda came on to bat with, Gisele Ishimwe 31(48) and captain Diane Biemenyimana 15(19) contributing to the score of the side, as Nigeria’s Peity Lucky and Racheal Samson, did the most damage to the East African team, claiming three wickets each.
The defending champions had to manage 90 runs for the loss of 9 wickets.
In his reaction, President of NCF, Uyi Akpata, said the victory was a welcome development and good feedback on the investments of the Federation into cricket development.
“First of all, this win is not for the team; it is a win for all. The effort being put in by passionate cricketers to support the board, the dedication of the players, the encouragement from the Honorable minister, and most of all, the sponsors that are keying into our vision. This is a win for all,” he said.
The annual tournament for 2023 edition, featured; Ghana, Cameroun, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and host Nigeria.
Akpata said that staging the event has done a lot for the growth of the game in the country, including helping the national team, rise on the T20i global ranking to 29th form 38th four years ago.
