Team Ogun’s male and female cricket teams have secured their spots in the semifinals of the T20 category at the ongoing 22nd National Sports Festival, tagged Gateway Games.
The men’s side, captained by national team player Sesan Adedeji, bounced back from an earlier technical loss to Team Kaduna with a dominant 9-wicket win over Team Zamfara on Thursday.
Ogun bowled out Zamfara for 73 in 20 overs, then chased down the target swiftly with 74 runs for the loss of just one wicket in five overs.
Now poised for a semifinal clash — potentially a rematch against Team Kaduna — Adedeji reiterated the team’s ambition to win the title on home soil.
“For now we are in a good position to be in the semifinal. I don’t think after Team Kaduna anyone has better points than we do. Each of the three groups has one leader who qualifies automatically to the semifinals, along with the best second-placed team. So we’re taking it one game at a time.
This one is done and we are giving it our all in the semifinals — we are aiming for the gold,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ogun’s female cricket team maintained a perfect group stage record. They defeated Ebonyi by 4 wickets in their opener on Tuesday and followed it up with an 8-wicket win over Gombe on Thursday, booking a direct ticket to the semifinals.
With both teams high on confidence, the host state will be pushing for a strong finish and a possible double podium appearance in cricket at the National Sports Festival.
