Nigeria win first game at women’s invitational by 6 wickets

Abuja, March 27, 2023 Nigeria won their first game at the ongoing Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) Women’s T20 Invitational Tournament against Sierra Leone by six wickets.
The game at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) on Monday was limited to 19 overs by the tournament’s Playing Control Team (PCT) due to its late commencement.
However, Nigeria won the toss and elected to field, sending the Sierra Leonean side to bat first, scoring 69/5 in 19 overs.
It did look like an easy chase for Nigeria, but the hosts were put under pressure in the power play, losing four wickets in the process.
The team had to rely on the partnership of Peity Lucky and Agatha Uadiale to see the team to a six-wicket victory, after scoring 67 runs for four wickets in 14.1 overs.
At the end of the game, captain of the Nigerian team, Blessing Etim, lauded the team for the efforts but assured that they would improve in their subsequent matches.
“Sierra Leone are always a tough side but I know that my team is very capable of facing any opposition here.
“Although, we are not very satisfied with our efforts today, we will go back and work on our lapses and come out stronger in our next game against Cameroon,” Etim said.
Fatumata Parkinson, captain of the Sierra Leone team, said the team were not satisfied with their number of runs on board but would improve as the tournament progresses.
Piety Lucky of Nigeria was named the Player of the Match, after batting 22 runs off 24 balls for the side.
Meanwhile, in the second game of the day, defending champions Rwanda beat Ghana by 117 runs.