Three for Two, Then No Way Back — Abdullahi Ismail Closes Nigeria's Series With a 71-Run Win

The table had been settled earlier in the day, when Nigeria A beat Ghana. Nigeria could no longer finish first. What they could do was finish the series properly, and they did.

Sierra Leone chose to field and bowled well enough to keep Nigeria to 136. Then Sierra Leone lost two wickets with three on the board, Abdullahi Ismail finished with 4 for 8, and a chase of 137 turned into a long afternoon of survival. Sierra Leone were all out for 65 in 19 overs, and Nigeria won by 71 runs.

Ali Rahmon began as if he meant to finish it early: 26 from 14 balls, with three fours and a six, and 42 on the board in 4.2 overs. Then Solomon Williams came on and took Nigeria's top three, Sulaimon Runsewe, Rahmon and Selim Salau, for 11 runs in his three overs. Nigeria were 51 for 3.

Nobody after that went on to a big score, but most contributed something. Isaac Danladi hit two sixes in 22, Miracle Akhigbe made 14, and Vincent Adewoye's 25 from 14, with two sixes, was the second-highest score of the innings. Sesay was expensive, 46 from four overs, but he took three wickets, and Nigeria were bowled out with two balls unused. From 106 for 8, the last two wickets added 30.

The chase was effectively over in the first few overs. Sierra Leone were 3 for 2, then 26 for 4. Ismail bowled David Halloway and had Alusine Turay caught for a first-ball duck. Raymond Coker stayed for 49 balls. His 22 was the top score, but at that pace he could only keep the innings alive, not move it forward. Around him, only George Sesay (11 from 9) reached double figures.

Nigeria used seven bowlers and none conceded more than 16. Kenneth Boniface's two overs went for 5 and Isaac Okpe's for 6. Ismail also bowled Coker and Solomon Williams, and the innings ended at 65 on the final ball of the 19th over.

Sierra Leone's bowlers did well to take ten wickets, and Williams and Conteh were hard to score off. But 136 proved to be plenty. Chasing sides who lose early wickets here don't recover, and Sierra Leone lost two by the time they had three runs.

Four overs, a maiden, 8 runs, four wickets, three of them bowled. Ismail's early strikes took the chase away, and bowling Coker ended the only innings that might have taken Sierra Leone anywhere. It is the kind of spell that makes a total of 136 look like 180.

Our preview made Nigeria clear favourites, which was right. It also hoped Sierra Leone's top order could survive the opening overs; they were 3 for 2. But the preview contained real errors. It said Nigeria had dominated the first meeting on September 23, when that match was abandoned. It credited Mohameed Taiwo with leading Nigeria's attack, but Taiwo plays for Nigeria A. And it labelled this the 11th Match when it was the 12th. Verdict: winner called correctly, but the preview's facts weren't good enough, and we'll check them more carefully next time.

The round-robin is complete, and cricinfo lists no final. Nigeria A top the table by a single point. The two Nigerian sides beat each other once each, and the difference in the end was the abandoned match against Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone finish third with two wins, both against Ghana. Unlock CricIntel Pro for more T20I analysis.