Peculiar Agboya, Lillian Udeh, and Salome Sunday shine for Nigeria as they edge past Uganda to clinch the third-place playoff by three wickets.
Nigeria Women led by skipper Blessing Etim finished 2nd on the points table in Group A with three points from three games. Their campaign in the Women’s African Games 2024 included one victory, one defeat, and one washed-out game. Uganda Women led by skipper Concy Aweko also finished 2nd on the points table in Group B with four points from three matches. Their campaign in the tournament included a couple of victories and a solitary 4-wicket defeat against Zimbabwe.
Uganda was all set to face Nigeria in the 3rd place play-off at the Women’s African Games. Nigeria skipper Blessing Etim won the toss and opted to field first. After being inserted to bat first, Uganda got off to a poor start, losing their top order in the 7th over of the innings. Rita Musamali joined opening batter Immaculate Nakisuuyi at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 24-run partnership for the 5th wicket before Lillian Udeh cleaned up Rita Musamali to provide the 5th breakthrough for Nigeria.
Immaculate Nakisuuyi soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 6th breakthrough for Nigeria. Phiona Kulume joined wicket-keeper batter Kevin Awino at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 20-run partnership for the 7th wicket before Christabel Chukwuonye cleaned up Phiona Kulume to provide the 7th breakthrough for her side.
Uganda eventually ended up with a total of 76/8 in their quota of overs. Immaculate Nakisuuyi (21 off 43 balls), wicket-keeper batter Kevin Awino (10 off 14 balls), and Phiona Kulume (10 off 14 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Uganda. Peculiar Agboya (4-0-11-3), Lillian Udeh (4-0-12-2), and Christabel Chukwuonye (2-0-6-2) were the top performers with the ball for Nigeria.
Chasing a target of 77, Nigeria got off to a poor start, as they also lost their top-order cheaply inside the first three overs of the run chase. Abigail Igbobie joined Salome Sunday at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 50-run partnership for the 4th wicket before Rita Musamali cleaned up Abigail Igbobie to provide the 4th breakthrough for Uganda. They suffered a mini collapse as they lost their next three wickets for just 10 runs. However, they eventually got over the line with three wickets in hand and four balls to spare.
Salome Sunday (37 off 50 balls), Lucky Piety (13 off 8 balls), and Abigail Igbobie (13 off 32 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Nigeria. Janet Mbabazi (4-1-8-2), skipper Concy Aweko (4-1-9-1), and Lorna Anyait (4-0-18-1) were the top performers with the ball for Uganda. Salome Sunday was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant performance (37 off 50 balls) with the bat, playing a crucial role in helping Nigeria defeat Uganda by three wickets in the 3rd place qualifier.