Kwibuka Women's T20: Nigeria Stun Uganda by 3 wickets win

Kwibuka Women's T20: Nigeria Stun Uganda by 3 wickets win

By Akanimo Kufre

Nigerian Female Yellow Greens on Friday afternoon got their pound of flesh when the girls defeated top ranked Ugandan team by 3 wickets at Gahanga Cricket pitch in Kigali, Rwanda.

Uganda in the first round game of the round robin tournament dented Nigeria's unbeaten run with a victory that "hurt" the Nigerian girls.

While captain of the Nigerian side, Blessing Etim was hopeful for the 2023 Kwibuka Women's T20 title, their shocking loss to the tournament's underdog, Botswana yesterday became their Waterloo.

Nigeria having completed 8 matches got 10 points just like host, Rwanda but are separated by Net Runs Rate (NRR).

Uganda tops table with 14 points, Rwanda 10 but 0.442 NRR while Nigeria has 10 points with -0.019 NRR. If the tournament organizer are to follow CricHeroes app, Nigeria will not play Uganda for the title rather meet Kenya for the 3rd place battle.

Former Nigeria national team captain and NCF Board Member, Endurance Offem said "it is not the end of the world rather a building block. We have made a statement that we can be the best!"

While Rachel Samson won the Player of the Match award for taking 3 wickets, Salome Sunday and Lucky Piety played 25 runs each to contribute to Nigeria's victory runs 76/7 against Uganda 72/9.

Nigeria's bowlers received lots of commendations after Friday game however, former Nigeria Technical Director, Olisa Egwuatu suggest the girls should adopt 'Smart Cricket' model - the technical aspect and approach to each dynamics of the game.