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‘Our Bowling Was Excellent’ — Ali Rahmon Demands Better Batting as Junior YellowGreens Chase World Cup Ticket
Nigeria U19 captain Ali Rahmon has praised the Junior Yellow Greens’ disciplined bowling performance in their emphatic five-wicket victory over Ghana in the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Africa Division 2 Qualifier in Rwanda.
Nigeria bounced back strongly from their opening-day defeat to Uganda, restricting Ghana to just 93 runs all out before completing the chase at 96/5 in 22.2 overs to secure a crucial five-wicket victory.
Rahmon credited the bowlers for maintaining pressure throughout Ghana’s innings, particularly through a steady supply of dot balls that prevented the hosts from building meaningful partnerships.
“The bowling unit was disciplined and kept the pressure on Ghana. The dot balls helped us control the innings and put us in a strong position.”
However, the captain believes Nigeria still has work to do with the bat. Despite chasing a modest target, the Junior Yellow Greens lost five wickets before reaching the required total.
Rahmon admitted that losing wickets while chasing such a small target is an area the team must address as the qualification campaign continues.
“We did well with the ball, but the batting needs to improve. Losing five wickets while chasing 94 is something we have to look at.”
The victory has revived Nigeria’s hopes of progressing from the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Africa Division 2 Qualifier, after the Junior Yellow Greens suffered an opening defeat to Uganda. Keneth Boniface was again influential, taking four wickets against Ghana before contributing 30 runs during the chase.
Nigeria’s preparation for the qualifier included a four-week high-performance camp designed to improve the players’ batting, bowling, fielding, fitness and tactical awareness.
The Junior Yellow Greens have now turned their attention to hosts Rwanda, with the crucial encounter scheduled for Wednesday, August 12. A strong result would further strengthen Nigeria’s bid to progress in the qualification race.
Rahmon and his teammates will therefore be looking for another disciplined bowling display while demanding greater composure from the batting department as Nigeria continues its pursuit of a place at the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup.
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