Nigeria bounce back with five-wicket win over Ghana

Nigeria’s Junior YellowGreens secured a five-wicket victory over Ghana at the Gahanga Oval to revive their ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup qualification campaign. After suffering an opening defeat to Uganda, the team responded by restricting Ghana to 93 all out before chasing the target with more than 27 overs remaining.

Following the win, the Nigerian side turns its attention to tournament hosts Rwanda on Wednesday, 12 August 2026. Their schedule also includes a fixture against Mozambique and a final test against Sierra Leone, which is considered a vital match for their qualification prospects.

Ghana won the toss and elected to bat, but the Nigerian bowling attack proved relentless. Kenneth Boniface took 4/33 from eight overs, while Precious Ayeni contributed 2/9 from eight overs. Princewill Chigozie also took 1/9 from 10 overs, as Okasha Isiyaku, Pelumi Orimolade, and Daniel Ayodele claimed the remaining wickets. David Ateak top-scored for Ghana with 26 runs.

In the chase, Nigeria faced pressure when slipping to 56/4 and 77/5. However, Kenneth Boniface remained unbeaten on 30 from 32 balls, including four fours and a six. He received support from Andrew Abah, who scored 20, and Peculiar Egemasi, who made 17. Nigeria reached 96/5 in 22.2 overs to complete the win.

Captain Ali Rahmon noted that while the bowlers did a good job of mounting pressure through dot balls and restricting the opposition, the batting unit still has work to do. He highlighted that the team lost too many wickets while chasing a relatively low target of 94.

This performance follows a difficult start for Nigeria on Sunday against Uganda. In that match, Kenneth Boniface scored 97 from 107 balls, supported by Okasha Isiyaku’s 34, to help Nigeria reach 176 all out. Despite Pelumi Orimolade’s 2/24, Uganda chased down the total with 178/5 to win by five wickets.