Not content with stunning Namibia on the first day of the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup, Africa Qualifier, Nigeria held their nerve to beat Uganda, and take a big step towards the 2020 World Cup in South Africa.
The West Africans recovered for a parlous 12 for four, and built up their total slowly. Samuel Mba scored a priceless half-century, with skipper Syvester Okpe also grinding to a gritty 26. That was after Trevor Bukenya (four for 24) had ripped through the top-order, putting Uganda in a commanding position.
As it was, Nigeria could only score 110 all out, and Uganda made their way to 62 for two, before the wheels fell off spectacularly. Their last eight wickets crashed for just 18 runs, as the pressure exerted by Nigeria proved too much.
Mohamed Taiwo’s left-arm swing struck two blows at the top and the end of the innings, as Nigeria fielded tenaciously, and didn’t allow Uganda any room to breathe. When the final wicket fell, Uganda still had half their innings still to bat, but simply melted under the pressure.
Nigeria’s 30-run victory now puts them in the pound seats to qualify, as they have an easier run-in on the weekend.
Hosts Namibia had gone into the third day knowing that they needed a favour from Uganda, but they also had to win big against Sierra Leone. That they did, as Matthew de Gouveia scored the second century of the tournament – both coming from Namibia.
His 102 not out, off 110 balls, lifted Namibia to 260 for eight. Skipper Divan la Cock also weighed in with 65, as Namibia found their fluency. They then rumbled their opponents for just 76, with the wickets shared around.
Ettiene Beukes was the pick of the bowlers, though, with three for 19 in his eight overs. Mauritius Ngupita wrapped up the tail with two for 7 in five overs, to seal a 184-run clinic.
In the third match of the day, Kenya were too strong for Tanzania. The Kenyans fielded first, and bowled out the men from Tanzania for 143. Runs were hard to come by, and it was Abdallah Jabiri who had to notch 28 at the tail of the innings to provide some sort of total.
Sukhdeep Singh was miserly, taking two for 16 in his ten overs, while Jairaj Pujara and Hashit Vekaria also took two wickets apiece.
In the chase, Sukhraj Ghataora gave Kenya the ideal start, with a patient 51 not out. He provided the anchor for Shukan Mehta (26) and then skipper Singh (53) to add the gloss to the finish.
Kenya prevailed by eight wickets, reaching their target with 13 overs to spare.
Scores in brief:
Nigeria v Uganda
Nigeria 110 all out (S Mba 54, S Okpe 26, T Bukenya four for 24)
Uganda 80 all out (Z Arinaitwe 28, M Taiwo four for 24, I Danladi three for 9)
Nigeria won by 30 runs
Namibia v Sierra Leone
Namibia 260 for eight ( M de Gouveia 102 not out, D la Cock 65)
Sierra Leone 76 all out (E Beukes three for 19, M Ngupita two for 7)
Namibia won by 184 runs
Kenya v Tanzania
Tanzania 143 all out (A Jabiri 28, S Singh two for 16)
Kenya 144 for two (S Ghataora 51 not out, S Singh 53)
Kenya won by eight wickets
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POINTS TABLE
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Tied | No Result | Points | NRR |
| Nigeria | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0,927 |
| Uganda | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0,747 |
| Namibia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2,553 |
| Kenya | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0,572 |
| Sierra Leone | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1,527 |
| Tanzania | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2,219 |
FIXTURES
Thursday 21 March
Wanderers – Nigeria vs Tanzania
WAP – Kenya vs Sierra Leone
Trustco United – Namibia vs Uganda
Friday 22 March
Rest or reserve day
Saturday 23 March
Wanderers – Kenya vs Namibia
WAP – Sierra Leone vs Nigeria
Trustco United – Uganda vs Tanzania
