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Nigeria has secured another dominant win on Day 2 of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Qualifiers in Abuja, defeating Ivory Coast by a massive 264 runs.
This follows their earlier victory against Saint Helena, putting the Yellow Green in a strong position for qualification.
Nigeria’s head coach, Steve Tikolo, in an interview with Brila.net after the match was satisfied with the team’s performance, especially after the team’s winning start to the tournament.
“It was good to start on a positive note. There are no easy games, and I’m happy with the win as we aim for a World Cup spot.”
Nigeria, currently the highest-ranked team in the tournament at 36th, is aiming to qualify for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
Tikolo remains focused on the team’s goal, acknowledging that each game will be a challenge as there are no easy games.
After being named Player of the Match for his outstanding performance against Ivory Coast, Ridwan AbdulKareem shared his thoughts on the victory.
“It has been a very good start to the sub-regional qualifiers. I hope that I and my teammates can maintain the same effort in the games to come.”
Nigeria’s back-to-back victories have put them in a strong position to advance to the next phase of qualifiers.
The top two teams from each sub-regional qualifier will move on to the final phase, where they will compete for one of two spots to join South Africa as Africa’s representatives at the 2026 World Cup.
For AbdulKareem, the team’s decision to bat first proved successful, contributing to their commanding win.
“From the beginning, it was on our end because we wanted to bat first and it works for us.”
“The captain went in and he wanted us to bat first, and we were able to put up a defendable score. Then, going to the field to bowl, just plan and just like go stomp, stomp,” he explained.
With the next game against Eswatini on Tuesday, Nigeria is looking to continue its winning streak and strengthen its chances of qualifying for the next round of the qualifiers.
