Akwa Ibom and Edo confirmed their dominance in women’s cricket in the country by finishing at the top of their groups unscathed in the ongoing National Women’s Championship.
The tournament, organized by the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF), saw these two states, alongside Lagos and Kogi, qualify for the semifinals stage scheduled for Saturday at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.
In Group B, Edo fought their way back to the top after defeating Kogi by 61 runs. Captain Queen Joseph and her Kogi teammates restricted the ambitious Edo batters to 114 runs in the first innings.
However, Edo thwarted Kogi’s attempt to reach the 116-run target quite early. Kogi managed 53 runs with the loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs.
Edo finished with five points from three games, having defeated Anambra on Tuesday but sharing points with Ekiti due to heavy rainfall on Wednesday.
The win over Kogi means the North Central side finishes second in the group with four points.
In Group A, Akwa Ibom and Lagos needed the final group game to determine who would top the group. Both teams entered the game with four points, and Lagos won the toss and opted to field.
Akwa Ibom batters Esther Sandy and Salome Sunday helped build a partnership to keep the scores ticking for the South South side, while Lagos bowlers ensured they limited them to 99 runs.
The second innings posed a challenge for Lagos as they faced the Akwa Ibom bowling onslaught led by Sunday, who took three wickets for 10 runs in four overs.
Akwa Ibom won by 44 runs and will face the runner-up of Group B, Kogi, while Lagos will clash with the winner of Group B, Edo, both on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Gombe, Ekiti, Anambra, and Kaduna have been eliminated from the competition.
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