Nigeria’s men’s cricket team, the Yellow Greens, suffered a narrow one-wicket loss to Tanzania in their first warm-up match ahead of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier scheduled for September 26 to October 4 in Zimbabwe.
In Monday’s encounter, Nigeria batted first but managed just 83 runs before being bowled out in 17.4 overs. Tanzania chased down the target in 19.2 overs, finishing with 84 runs for nine wickets.
Despite the defeat, standout performances emerged for Nigeria. Isaac Danladi, fresh from a one-month stint at a Zimbabwean club, top-scored with 31 runs off 33 balls. Ridwan Abdulkareem contributed 14 runs, while Peter Aho impressed with the ball, taking three wickets for 15 runs in 3.2 overs.
For Tanzania, Abhik Patwa was their best batter with 22 runs, while U-20 captain-turned-senior player Laksh Bakraina was devastating with the ball, claiming three wickets for just 11 runs in four overs.
The Yellow Greens will play their second warm-up match against hosts Zimbabwe on Wednesday before opening their qualifiers campaign against Malawi on Friday.
Led by coach Steve Tikolo, a former Kenyan international, the Nigerian side has been in camp in Lagos since July after their Pearl of Africa tournament outing in Uganda.
In Zimbabwe, Nigeria will face Namibia, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Botswana, with only two teams set to qualify for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
The Yellow Greens secured their place in the final qualifying round by topping Group B of the Africa qualifiers last year. Fifteen nations, including South Africa, have already booked their places at the World Cup, which runs between February and March 2026.
