Nigeria’s Female Yellow Greens celebrated their first win of the 2026 Kwibuka T20 Tournament. They beat Malawi by 52 runs at the Gahanga 2 Cricket Oval in Kigali on Wednesday.
Malawi won the toss and chose to bowl first. Nigeria scored a solid 98 runs for 8 wickets in 20 overs. Jessica Bieni was the star with the bat, remaining not out on 25 runs.
Other key contributions came from Sarah Etim with 14 runs, Favour Eseigbe with 11 runs, and Christabel Chukwuonye also with 11 runs. They helped Nigeria recover from some early problems to set a defendable score.
Malawi’s bowlers tried hard, led by Lucky Malino, who took four wickets. But Nigeria's lower-order batters showed strength and ensured they reached a good total.
Strong Bowling Performance
In reply, Nigeria's coach Theophilus Ibodeme's team showed their skills in bowling and fielding. They bowled out Malawi for just 46 runs in 10.3 overs. This gave Nigeria a convincing win.
Shola Adekunle was named Player of the Match. She took three wickets for 15 runs. Henrietta Mbam also made an impact with two wickets for just 16 runs.
Captain Favour Eseigbe played her first competitive match in about a year. She took two wickets in three balls, finishing with figures of 2/0.
After the match, Eseigbe talked about her team's spirit and determination. She said they aimed to score over 120 runs but gave credit to the Malawi bowlers for their good performance.
“Our plan was to go out there and score above 120, but credit must go to the Malawi bowlers because they bowled really well and troubled our batters. However, we had a Plan B. We never give up until the game is over.
“Even when batting became difficult, we stayed patient, used our legs, rotated the strike, and found ways to keep the scoreboard moving. Regardless of what total we ended up with, we were prepared to defend it.”
This win is a big boost for Nigeria as they continue in the tournament. Their next game is against Brazil at the Gahanga A Oval on Thursday.
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