Seventy Without Loss, All Out for 112 — Then Isaac Okpe Rescues Nigeria From 72 for 7

Nigeria against Nigeria A is a strange sort of rivalry: the national side against the players pushing to replace them. On Tuesday the A side won it by 19 runs. On Friday evening in Lagos the senior side took it back, but only just, and only because of one innings from No. 7.

Both innings collapsed. Nigeria A were 70 for 0 after ten overs and were bowled out for 112 in 19.2. Nigeria were 72 for 7 in the 15th over, needing 41 from 31 balls. Isaac Okpe then hit 36 not out from 21 balls, with three sixes, and Nigeria won by two wickets with five balls to spare.

Elijah Jimmy played the best innings of the first half: 51 from 35 balls with eight fours. He and Miracle Solomon put on 70 for the first wicket. Solomon's 13 took 28 balls, but it didn't seem to matter while Jimmy was scoring so freely. Kenneth Boniface ended the stand on the last ball of the tenth over. Odion Isesele had Jimmy lbw three balls later, and Nigeria A were 77 for 4 by the 13th.

There was a brief recovery to 101 for 5, then a second collapse. Vincent Adewoye bowled a single over and took two wickets for one run. The last five wickets fell for 11. From 70 for 0, a team with this start should have made 150. They made 112. When they bowled, Sylvester Okpe and Gafar Kareem gave them every chance of defending it anyway: eight overs, 29 runs and six wickets between them.

Nigeria's chase went wrong in much the same way. Selim Salau hit 28 from 30 balls, but wickets fell steadily around him. Sylvester Okpe took two in the powerplay and two more later, and Kareem bowled Miracle Akhigbe. By the end of the 15th over Nigeria were 72 for 7, and the A side were clear favourites.

Then Isaac Okpe took over. With Chima Akachukwu he added 26 for the eighth wicket, taking Nigeria to 98. Akachukwu was out with 15 still needed. Peter Aho stayed with Okpe until the end. His three sixes were the ones Nigeria A could not answer, and he finished 36 not out from 21 balls. The senior side had squared the week's head-to-head at one win each.

The Tafawa Balewa Square pitch has produced low totals all series, and this match followed the pattern. Both sides were well placed at one point and both then collapsed, which says as much about the surface as about the batting. Once the new ball had lost its shine, bowlers who kept a tight line were hard to score off. Gafar Kareem went at three an over, and Boniface at two. Batters who could clear the ropes made the difference, and in the end it was Isaac Okpe who did.

No Player of the Match award is listed on the scorecard, so we will name our own. Isaac Okpe came in with Nigeria in trouble and finished with 36 not out from 21 balls. He hit three sixes when no other Nigeria batter had managed more than one, and he stayed until the end. Honourable mention goes to Nigeria A's Sylvester Okpe, whose 4 for 17 would normally win a match on this ground.

We did not publish a preview for this fixture, so there is no call to grade. We'll have full analysis for the next Nigeria and Nigeria A matches.

Nigeria A still lead the table with three wins from four matches. Nigeria and Sierra Leone each have two wins, a defeat and a no-result, and Ghana have yet to win. Nigeria play Ghana on September 26 and Sierra Leone on September 27. Nigeria A face Sierra Leone on September 26 and Ghana on September 27. The team at the top of the table could still change on the final day. Unlock CricIntel Pro for more T20 analysis.