Junior Yellow Greens bounce back with big win over Ghana in U-19 World Cup Qualifiers
Nigeria’s Junior Yellow Greens have reignited their hopes of qualifying for the 2028 ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup after cruising to a convincing five-wicket victory over Ghana at the Gahanga Oval.
The win comes just a day after Nigeria suffered a narrow opening-day defeat to Uganda, putting the young side back on track in the qualification tournament.
Keneth Boniface was once again the standout performer, producing an impressive all-round display to earn the Player of the Match award.
After scoring a brilliant 97 off 107 balls against Uganda, Boniface starred with the ball against Ghana, claiming four wickets as Nigeria’s bowlers bundled out the West Africans for just 93 runs in 35.5 overs.
Nigeria made light work of the chase, reaching 96 for five in only 22.2 overs to seal victory with more than 27 overs to spare.
Boniface once again made an important contribution with the bat, scoring 30 runs from 32 deliveries to guide his side across the line.
Reflecting on his composed performance, Boniface said he was simply focused on executing the team’s plan and keeping pressure off himself.
«“I’m just trying to go on with the team plan. The team plan is just to play around and get what I need, so I have to just wait there, enjoy the game, less pressure. That’s all.”»
Nigeria captain Ali Rahmon also praised the bowlers for their disciplined performance but admitted there is still work to do with the bat.
Rahmon said losing the toss ultimately worked in Nigeria’s favour because the team had wanted to bowl first, take early wickets and put Ghana under pressure.
Although the early breakthroughs did not come immediately, Nigeria’s bowlers built pressure through a steady stream of dot balls before eventually dismissing Ghana for 93.
“Our bowlers did a very good job restricting them to 94 runs,” Rahmon said.
However, the captain expressed concern over Nigeria’s batting after the team lost five wickets while chasing a modest target.
“I feel as a batting unit, we are not there yet because we lost too many wickets chasing 94 runs,” he added.
The Junior Yellow Greens will now turn their attention to tournament hosts Rwanda on Wednesday before facing Mozambique.
Nigeria will then round off their campaign against Sierra Leone, with each remaining fixture carrying significant weight in the team’s bid to secure a place at the 2028 ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup.
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