Nigeria, Ghana in epic semi-final duel at Women T20I

Just three days after the Black Stars pipped the Super Eagles to the Qatar 2022 ticket, the two countries go head-to-head in women’s cricket in Lagos.

With two victories in the bag, the Nigeria women’s cricket team will resume the Women’s T20I Invitational Cricket title chase on Friday, April 1, 2022, with an all-important duel against Ghana’s Women’s Cricket team.

The Ghanaian Women, locked down their first win on Wednesday running roughshod over the Gambia with a 104-run blowout.

Their first two matches with Rwanda and Sierra Leone earlier in the week had left them with defeats.

Nigeria has however had a smooth run so far with clean shoves of the Gambia and Sierra Leone Women’s teams to pitch them as favourites along with Rwanda for the title in the five-nation invitational.

The encounter with Ghanaian women, apart from stoking the traditional rivalry, will also test Nigeria’s stability and hunger to give the title a chase, before their finals test against Rwanda on Saturday.

The hosts are ranked 37th by the International Cricket Council (ICC), albeit Ghana is yet to be ranked by the world cricket governing body.

Both teams had met earlier at a Women’s Invitational in Ghana in 2018, with Nigeria gaining the upper hand by a four-run win.

The Ghanian Women’s team, led by Rhyda Ofori, has a number of its players drawn from a recently concluded Ashanti Region T20 tournament.

The team also played against an Under 19 selected side as part of preparations for this event.

Ofori’s side should however be wary of Nigeria’s captain Blessing Etim, who was player-of-the-match with bowling statistics of two wickets, 16 runs in four overs against Sierra Leone.

Also, teammate Salome Sunday, who got the tournament’s first half-century in the same game will be a handful.

Another player of note is medium-pace bowler, 15-year-old Lilian Ude, whose bowling ability earned her a debut in the team as she showed good class to become Player of the Match in the team’s second game against the Gambia.

Ude’s two overs, two wickets, and two maidens earned her that individual award in her second cap for the national team.

The hosts should also show respect to her unranked opponents especially the likes of Felicia Serwaa and Elizabeth Annor with the best batting performances in the game against the Gambia, as well as bowler Janet.

Fans will be hoping to get consolation from this game, having seen the Super Eagles lose the Qatar 2022 World Cup ticket to Ghana a few days ago.

Whichever the situation, the game promises to be a cracker at the ten-strip Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval in Lagos.