The Yellow Greens, suffered their first defeat at the 2024 ILT20 Continent Cup on Friday, losing to Uganda by five wickets at the Gahanga Cricket Oval, a loss which ends Nigeria’s winning streak.
The loss ends Nigeria’s seven-game winning streak, which dates back to the 2026 ICC T20 Africa World Cup qualifiers C in Abuja. The Yellow Greens had won their previous two matches at the Continent Cup, but were unable to overcome a strong Ugandan side.
Nigeria captain Sylvester Okpe won the toss and elected to bat first, but his team struggled to post a competitive total.
The Yellow Greens were limited to 133 runs for the loss of nine wickets in 20 overs, with wicketkeeper Sulaimon Runsewe and Salau Selim being the top contributors.
Ugandan bowler Dinesh Nakrani was the star of the show, taking four wickets in Nigeria’s innings to restrict their total.
The second inning ended with the DLS method, with Uganda chasing a target of 84 runs. Led by Cosmas Kyewutas’ 24 runs from 10 balls, the Ugandans easily chased down the target, scoring 87 runs for the loss of five wickets in 9.4 overs.
The win took Uganda to the top of the points table, with six points from three wins. Nigeria dropped to second place, with four points from two wins in three matches.
The Yellow Greens will look to bounce back from the defeat when they face Botswana on Saturday, while Uganda will take on hosts Rwanda.
Furthermore, the four teams in the tournament will play each other three times each, with the top two teams advancing to the final next Saturday.