Nigeria’s Senior Men’s Cricket team, on Saturday, defeated Saint Helena by 118 runs in the ongoing International Cricket Council T20 World Cup Africa Sub Regional C Qualifiers in Abuja.

Nigeria’s batting contributions on the day sealed their decision to bat against Saint Helena after winning the toss at the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) oval B.

Abeit losing opener Selim Salau in the third over for 10 off 8, Sulaimon Runsewe’s 60 off 51 balls steadied the innings for the home side.

Runsewe, who seemed to be having a swell time at the crease, was sent packing for an lbw in 14.2 overs leaving Elijah Olaleye 46 off 36 and Danladi Isaac 48 off 26, both playing not out, to end the Nigerian innings on 185/2 in 20 overs.

In reply, Saint Helena struggled with the bat, with no batter scoring 20 runs and above. Scott Crowie’s 17 off 32, Aiden Leo 18’s off 27 and David Young’s 13 off 12 were the top batting performance for the side.

Nigeria’s bowlers, led by former Under 19 captain, Rdiwan Kareem ensured the likes of Brett Isaac, Cliff Richards, Jamie Essex and Andre Yon were dismissed for a duck.

Kareem was the stand out bowler with four dismissals as captain Sylvester Okpe sent two batters back to the pavilion while Peter Aho, Taiwo Mohammed and Isaac picked one wicket each to restrict Saint Helena to 67/10 in 19.1 0vers.

Nigeria won by 118 runs.

Nigeria will play against Côte d’Ivoire on Sunday, before facing Sierra Leone, Eswatini and Botswana.

Two of the top teams in the tournament will qualify to the ICC Africa Qualifiers in 2025.

(NAN)