The Nigerian U19 cricket team dominated Malawi by 225 runs on Friday, extending their outstanding performances at the ICC Africa Cricket World Cup playoffs in Abuja.
Nigeria achieved her fourth unbeaten streak in the competition by defeating Malawi in the semi-finals.
The dominant West African cricket nation, Nigeria, chose to bat first after winning the toss.
Paul Pam and Selim Salau, Nigeria’s regular openers, had a dismal batting average of just 8 runs.
However, with the arrival of Izuchuwku Okeke and David Abiebhode to bat, hope was restored on Nigeria’s bench.
In order to keep the team’s spirits high, Okeke batted for 84 runs off 98 balls while Abiebhode hit 50 runs also call ‘half-century’ in cricket parlance.
Nigeria’s total score was 258 runs for loss of 9 wickets and it was another glorious outing as the boys played out their 49 overs.
The second inning was the turn of the Malawi to chase 259 runs target, but the Nigerian bowlers were mean and ferocious in their ball delivery.
Nigeria’s captain Ridwan Kareem destroyed six wickets in a pack including Malawi’s captain, Phillip Zuze. Okeke also decimated two Malawi wickets to demolish the opponent dream to reach finals.
The severe pressure on Malawi restrained the team to a meagre 33 runs and the batters were ‘all out’ in 12.5 overs.
Nigeria’s U19 Captain’s beautiful bowling spell earned him the Man of the Match award. Kareem was magnificent in his solo effort as he bowled and caught six of his Malawian victims.
With Friday’s unmatched victory, Nigeria is now set for destiny with the formidable Kenya for Saturday’s final match.
Kenya had earlier defeated Sierra Leone by 81 runs to qualify for the final.
