Nigeria claimed their third consecutive victory over Sierra Leone on Matchday 7, defeating their West African rivals by a commanding 68 runs in the second edition of the West Africa Trophy.

Thursday’s third-round action at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium kicked off with Zambia producing a spirited performance to secure a hard-fought 23-run victory over Rwanda.

Although Rwanda had comfortably beaten Zambia in their first two encounters in the tournament, they were unable to complete a hat-trick of victories as the Zambians fought back to claim a 23-run win in their third meeting.

Meanwhile, the second game of the day saw Nigeria win the toss and elected to bat first.

The Patriots proved costly with sloppy fielding, spilling chances and conceding extras as Nigeria’s batters took full advantage to post a challenging 171/7 in their 20 overs.

Danladi Isaac’s 64 runs off 35 balls was instrumental to Nigeria’s run score on the board.

In their chase, Sierra Leone were bowled out 68 runs short, with Abubakar Kamara’s brisk 29 off 25 balls proving the only notable contribution for the Patriots.

Nigeria restricted their opponents to 103 all out in 19.3 overs to seal a commanding 68-run victory.

Nigeria will take on Zambia in a highly anticipated clash on Friday.