Nigeria beat Lesotho by seven wickets with 74 balls remaining in the 12th match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Sub Regional Africa Qualifier Group C at the Nigeria Cricket Federation Oval 2 in Abuja on 24 October 2026. Chima Akachukwu was player of the match after taking 3/6 from 2.1 overs as Lesotho were dismissed for 62.
How It Unfolded
Lesotho won the toss and chose to bat, but Nigeria's bowlers took control. Akachukwu's figures of 3/6 included a maiden, and Elochukwu Ndubudem matched his wicket haul with 3/12 from 3.5 overs. Kenneth Boniface took 2/14 and Mohameed Taiwo 1/2 from his single over. Only Ts'episo Chaoana resisted, finishing unbeaten on 26 off 18 balls with three fours and a six. Mohmed Duvesh Patel made 8 and no other batter passed 7.
Nigeria needed 63 and reached 65/3 in 7.4 overs. They lost Sylvester Okpe, Vincent Adewoye and Boniface cheaply, with Inshaf Farook taking 2/19 for Lesotho and Chaoana 1/21. Ridwan Abdulkareem (28 not out off 18 balls, with three fours and a six) and Miracle Akhigbe (26 not out off 25 balls, with four fours) then finished the chase without further loss.
The Oracle's Call
The CricMind Oracle locked Nigeria as strong favourites before the toss, at 84% to Lesotho's 16%, and the call was correct. The model rated Nigeria 39th and Lesotho 94th, and Nigeria came in with five straight wins. See the full Oracle call and the running record on the Oracle report card.
What's Next
This was Nigeria's fourth win of the group, after victories in the 3rd, 6th and 7th matches. Lesotho's only win so far came in the 2nd match, by 74 runs. Uganda have won four of their matches and Zambia two. Every result is on the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Sub Regional Africa Qualifier Group C hub.
Source: Scorecard and the Oracle call.