Nigeria began their title defense with a 54-run win in their first game against Sierra Leone at the fourth Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) Women’s T20I Invitational in Lagos.
Captain Blessing Etim won the toss and opted to bat, scoring 137/2 in 20 overs in the first inning.
Favor Eseigbe 44 (48), Peculiar Agboya 33 (41), and Esther Sandy 30 (21), to give Nigeria a high total score of 137.
The second inning gave the Female Patriots of Sierra Leone an opportunity to fight but was limited by Nigerian bowlers.
Nigeria recorded early dismissals of the opening batters. However, Celina Bull was able to contribute 23 runs before she was caught by Salome Sunday after Shola Adekunle’s delivery.
Sierra Leone played a total of 83 runs and lost 8 wickets at the end of 20 overs.
Nigeria’s Favorite Eseigbe won the Player of the Match award after taking 2 wickets and batting 44 runs for her country.
Eseigbe, however, attributed the win to the team’s hard work and team spirit.
“Thank God we won the game. Although we would have done better, we played as a team, and that was what got us the victory,” Eseigbe said. (NAN)
