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From Standard Times Press News Paper SPORTS Amidst cardiac contractions, Nigeria narrowly beat hard fighting Sierra-Leone at the finals of the 2nd North/West Africa Cricket Championship at the weekend in Lagos. It was jubilation galore at the end of the pulsating encounter, as both young and old cricket, loving Nigerians trooped to the Cricket Oval at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) to celebrate the miraculous victory. The match which was watched by notable Nigerians including the Igwe of Achala, Igwe Alex Nwokedi and DR. Kalu Idika Kalu, former Finance Minister and Chairman, BGL Limited amongst several others, was largely dominated by the visitors until the tail end of the encounter. The youthful Nigerian lads proved their worth after surviving the victory hungry Sierra-Leonean team in the keenly contested battle. The Sierra-Leoneans batted first to score 142 runs all out, as Nigeria fought tooth and nail to make 143 runs for nine wickets. It was pretty easy for the Nigerian team in the first innings, when they edged out the visitors wickets, but were in oblivion of what the Sierra-Leonnians had in stock for them after lunch. The second round resumed with great expectations by the Nigerian team before the visitors suddenly turned the table against them, when seven of Nigerian wickets were bowled out. Providence however, played a fast one on the visitors. The fans trooped to the pitch to jubilate the victory shortly after the match was brought to an end. The match that started around 10 am was brought to and end via the Nigerians' victory at about 6:30 pm on Thursday. The players from the five nations that took part in the competition were treated to a nice time as they danced throughout the night, having gone through the rigour of a 10- day excruciating championship. © Copyright by www.standardtimespress.net |