Zambia Beat Gambia by 8 Wickets — Dadabhai's 4 for 15 Keeps Gambia to 93 for 9

Some T20 totals are a challenge and some are an invitation. Gambia's 93 for 9 at the Nigeria Cricket Federation Oval 1 was the second kind. Having chosen to bat, they lost three wickets inside the first five overs and were 53 for 6 by the 13th, and only a seventh-wicket stand of 34 between Mustapha Suwareh and David Demba gave the scorecard any shape. Ayaz Dadabhai took 4 for 15 from his four overs, two of them in consecutive balls in the 19th.

Zambia lost Ismail Kara early in the chase, but Jakir Patel's 34 off 24 balls and Shadreck Malama's unbeaten 38 took them to 97 for 2 in 11.4 overs. Zambia won by 8 wickets with 50 balls remaining, a day after they had bowled Lesotho out for 58 at the same venue.

Zambia used seven bowlers and not one of them conceded more than 24. Dadabhai had Andre Jarju caught by Kara in the second over, then bowled Frank Campbell, who had hit two fours in a brisk 10 off 8, with the score on 23. Joshep Zulu removed Muhammed Manga five balls later without a run added, and from 23 for 3 Gambia were always rebuilding. Zahirbhai Patel trapped Aniru Conteh lbw for 16 off 31, Javid Patel had Abubacarr Kuyateh caught, and Dadabhai was also at the bowler's end for the run out of Pa Assan Faye. Chimya Chilekwa's two overs cost just 5.

The chase lost Kara at 15, caught behind by Ousman Bah off Kuyateh, and that was the last thing that went Gambia's way. Jakir Patel hit six fours and a six in 34 off 24, Shadreck Malama matched him with three fours and two sixes, and their 61 in 48 balls settled it. Patel was caught by Kuyateh off Musa Jobarteh with 76 on the board, and Malama and Vasmiakram Chand finished it off in the 12th over.

Gambia chose to bat, which suggests they trusted the surface, but no batter faced more than 31 balls and nobody passed 16. Conteh's 16 took 31 deliveries, and the only moment the innings looked like going somewhere was the stand between Suwareh (15 off 20) and Demba (13 off 22), who put on 34 in 38 balls for the seventh wicket from 53 for 6. Sixteen extras were the third-highest contribution to the total, which tells its own story.

With the ball, Kuyateh's 3-0-15-1 was tidy and he took the one wicket that mattered early, but Jobarteh's four overs cost 36 and included six wides, and against a target of 94 there was no margin for that. Gambia did get a win in the end: their only victory of the week came against Lesotho on the final day.

Gambia were 23 for 1 after Campbell's two fours in the fourth over. Then Dadabhai bowled Campbell at 3.3, and Zulu had Manga caught by Zahirbhai Patel at 4.2. Two wickets, no runs, five balls. From 23 for 3 the innings became a matter of survival rather than scoring, and Conteh's 31-ball 16 was the shape that survival took. Dadabhai's double in the 19th over, Suwareh caught by Chilekwa and Musa Jobarteh bowled next ball, was the end of the same story.

Four overs, no wides, no no-balls, 15 runs, four wickets. Dadabhai struck in the second over and again in the 19th, which means Gambia were under pressure from him at both ends of the innings, and in between he was involved in a run out. Two of his four were bowled and the last two came in consecutive balls. On a day when every Zambian bowler was economical, he was the one who turned economy into wickets.

This match didn't have a CricIntel preview — we'll have full analysis for the next encounter.

The six-team round robin in Abuja finished on Sunday, October 25, with Nigeria on 10 points and Uganda on 8 going through to the Africa Regional Final. Zambia ended on 4 points, with this result and the win over Lesotho to show for the week, and Gambia on 2 after beating Lesotho on the final day. For Zambia the attack is the asset: seven bowlers, all of them tight, and Dadabhai at the front. For Gambia the task before the next qualifying cycle is a simple one to describe and a hard one to do: build one partnership at the top of the innings.