Yellow Greens Wrap Up Pearl Of Africa T20 Series With One Win

The Nigeria national men’s cricket team, the Yellow Greens, concluded their campaign at the Pearl of Africa T20 Series in Uganda with a six-wicket loss to Kenya on Sunday, finishing the tournament with just one victory from six outings.

Entering the competition as the lowest-ranked side, Nigeria faced stiff opposition from more experienced teams including Kenya, Uganda, the UAE, and Namibia.

Their sole win came on Friday in a tense match against Namibia. Defending a modest total of 105/9, the Yellow Greens held their nerve to restrict Namibia to 99/8, securing a thrilling six-run victory.

The tournament began on a challenging note for Nigeria, who narrowly lost their opening match to Kenya by 18 runs (DLS method) after being held to 88/9 while chasing 106.

On July 18, hosts Uganda posted a formidable 180/4, and Nigeria could only respond with 85/5, falling to a heavy 77-run defeat. The following day, despite a stronger showing with the bat (111 all out), Nigeria were outplayed by Namibia, who chased down the target with ease to win by eight wickets.

The struggles continued on July 21 against the UAE, where Nigeria collapsed to a lowly 58 all out, handing the Emiratis a comfortable seven-wicket win.

Facing Uganda again on July 22, Nigeria delivered a more disciplined bowling performance, limiting them to 147/6. However, the batting unit fell short once more, resulting in a 38-run loss.

In their penultimate match on Saturday, the Yellow Greens were outclassed again by the UAE, suffering a 53-run defeat. Despite these setbacks, Nigeria closed the tournament with a commendable effort against Kenya, posting 113/9 before their East African rivals chased down the target with six wickets to spare.

Individually, captain Sylvester Okpe led from the front with the bat, finishing as the team’s top scorer with 100 runs. He was closely followed by Prosper Useni (89 runs) and Isaac Danladi (88 runs). On the bowling front, Okpe, Peter Aho, and Taiwo Mohammed each claimed seven wickets, standing out as Nigeria’s top performers with the ball.

Under the guidance of head coach and former Kenyan international Steve Tikolo, the Yellow Greens will look to regroup and improve ahead of the ICC Men’s Africa T20 World Cup Qualifier, scheduled to take place in Zimbabwe from September 26 to October 4.