Nigeria’s men’s cricket team, the Yellow Greens, suffered a narrow defeat in their first warm-up game ahead of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier. The match, played on Monday, saw Tanzania claim a dramatic one-wicket victory as both sides fine-tuned their preparations for the continental showdown in Zimbabwe from September 26 to October 4.
Batting first, Nigeria struggled to build momentum and managed 83 runs all out in 17.4 overs. Tanzania responded with resilience, reaching 84 runs for nine wickets in 19.2 overs to seal the tense win.
Despite the result, several Nigerian players showed flashes of quality. Isaac Danladi, who recently honed his skills at a Zimbabwean club, impressed with a composed 31 runs off 33 balls. Ridwan Abdulkareem followed with 14 runs from 25 deliveries, while Peter Aho made his mark with the ball, taking three wickets for just 15 runs in 3.2 overs.
On Tanzania’s side, their U-20 captain turned senior star, Laksh Bakraina, proved decisive. The bowler claimed three wickets for 11 runs in four overs, keeping Nigeria on the back foot. Meanwhile, Abhik Patwa top-scored for Tanzania with 22 runs, showing consistency even in a low-scoring affair.
Nigeria, coached by former Kenyan star Steve Tikolo, will have another chance to sharpen their performance when they face Zimbabwe in their second warm-up game on Wednesday. The Yellow Greens will then open their qualifier campaign against Malawi on Friday.
The qualifiers will see Nigeria compete against Namibia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Malawi for two World Cup spots. Nigeria advanced to this stage after topping Group B in last year’s Africa qualifier.
So far, 15 nations, including South Africa, have already secured their tickets to the 2026 T20 World Cup, scheduled for India and Sri Lanka in February–March 2026.
