Adegbola and Olatunji finished unbeaten on 51 and 67, respectively, as Nigeria achieved its 134-run target for the loss of four wickets against the team that had not lost a match all tournament.Nigeria's target was adjusted to 134 according to the Duckworth-Lewis method (D/L method) after an early rain interruption, and Adegbola and Olatunji, who later picked up his third man-of-the-match award of the tournament, came together with Nigeria struggling at 19 for four, having lost both openers in the second over. The two batsmen player cleverly, with the skipper batting patiently and Olatunji scoring quick runs, including nine boundaries, on the way to his 64-ball 67.
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| Nigerian Cricket Team after winning ICC WCL Div VII |
The two were still at the crease when Nigeria reached its revised target of 134 in 32.1 overs to record its first victory over Vanuatu in the tournament.Earlier, Vanuatu's strong-performing batting lineup failed to fire, with danger men Trevor Langa (10) and Damian Smith (3) falling to Joshua Ogunlola within five overs of each other. Captain Andrew Mansale got the Vanuatu innings back on track with a well-struck 25, but wickets fell regularly as the Nigeria bowlers restricted the run rate and good fielding resulted in two run outs. Vanuatu was all out for 133 in the 39th over of its allotted 45 overs. While Vanuatu bowlers Niko Unavalu captured all four Nigeria wickets for 27 runs, the day belonged to Olatunji, whose performances with the bat have led to him being the highest run getter of the tournament, with a strike rate of over 120.
Nigeria captain Adekunle Adegbola was delighted with his side's performance against the previously undefeated Vanuatu. Adegbola said: "It was an excellent performance from the Nigerian side today. Awesome bowling, and impressive batting too. Well done guys."
Vanuatu captain Andrew Mansale was gracious in defeat, saying: "Well done Nigeria. I am proud we worked hard enough to get promoted to Division 6, and I am confident we will improve."
