Cricket: Salome, Lucky set records in Nigeria’s big win

Female Yellow Greens players, Sunday Salome and Piety Lucky, smashed each other’s records at the ongoing 2024 Kwibuka Women’s T20i tournament as the senior women’s team recorded their biggest margin of win by thrashing Malawi by 90 runs in their last round-robin game on Friday, Saturday PUNCH reports.

Malawi’s 90 runs for the loss of six wickets stood no chance against the hard-batting Nigerians who posted a whopping 180 runs for the loss of six wickets in their allotted overs.

The win was 28 runs better than Nigeria’s previous biggest margin win of 62 runs which they achieved against Ghana at the 2023 Nigeria Cricket Federation Women’s T20i invitational.

Player of The Match Lucky recorded 70 runs including 10 4s and two 6s from 48 balls for the highest individual score for Nigeria in a T20i game, surpassing Salome’s 48 runs from 20 balls which was recorded in the same game.

The 17-year-old also set a 52-run record for the most recorded in boundaries, breaking Salome’s 28 runs record which was set against Rwanda four days ago at the tournament.

In response, Salome also hit three 6s against Malawi, toppling Lucky’s two for the most sixes in an innings for Nigeria.

Following the win over Malawi, the Female Yellow Greens cemented a top four finish in the round-robin and will now face Rwanda in the third-place playoff on Saturday (today).

It will be Nigeria and hosts Rwanda’s second meeting at the tournament.

The Female Yellow Greens triumphed in their faceoff four days ago with 32 runs for their 12th head-to-head win while Rwanda have won 11 of their previous 24 meetings and one game ended in a draw.

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