Junior Yellow Greens Target Rwanda Test After Ghana Victory

By Dorcas Francis Koji

Nigeria’s Junior Yellow Greens will look to build on their impressive five-wicket victory over Ghana when they face hosts Rwanda on Wednesday in their next ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Africa Division 2 Qualifier fixture.

Nigeria revived their qualification campaign with a convincing win over Ghana at the Gahanga Oval on Monday, but captain Ali Rahmon believes the team must improve its batting performance as they prepare for a tougher test against Rwanda.

The Junior Yellow Greens restricted Ghana to 93 all out before completing the chase at 96/5 in 22.2 overs to secure their first victory of the competition.

Keneth Boniface was Nigeria’s standout performer, producing another impressive all-round display. He claimed 4/33 from eight overs before finishing unbeaten on 30 off 32 deliveries, including four fours and a six.

His contribution earned him the Player of the Match award.

Despite the comfortable margin of victory, Rahmon admitted Nigeria’s batting unit still has room for improvement after losing five wickets while chasing a relatively modest target.

“Firstly, when we lost the toss, it actually went our way because we were actually looking to bat and bowl first, get some early wickets and mount pressure, but we didn’t really get the early wicket,” Rahmon said.

“We got more dot balls though, and mounted pressure, and we were able to bowl them out.

“But I feel as a batting unit, we are not there yet because we lost too many wickets chasing 94 runs.”

The victory over Ghana provided a much-needed response after Nigeria suffered a narrow five-wicket defeat to Uganda in their opening match on Sunday at Gahanga 2.

The Junior Yellow Greens will now face a Rwanda side that has made a perfect start to the tournament, winning both of its opening matches and currently sitting at the top of the standings.

Nigeria will therefore need another disciplined bowling performance while improving their efficiency with the bat if they are to overcome the hosts and strengthen their qualification hopes.

The stakes are high, with the top three teams in the division set to join Kenya, Namibia and Tanzania in the top division next year.

For Nigeria, Wednesday’s encounter presents another important opportunity to move closer to securing promotion and keeping their hopes of reaching the 2028 ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup alive.