Rwanda and Ghana claimed a win each during the first day of the friendly bilateral T20 series, which opened Wednesday, August 18, at Gahanga International Cricket stadium in Kigali.

The hosts narrowly won the first match, beating Ghana by a wicket, as 17-year-old Martin Akayezu put in a man-of-the-match performance on his national team debut with an explosive 51 runs to help his side claim a win with 165/9 against Ghana’s 164/5.

The Ghanaians won the toss and decided to bat first as skipper Obed Harvey and his teammates got off to an impressive start with 132/2 after 15 overs before getting to the innings break with 164/5.

Martin Suji’s boys, who were playing their first match in over 18 months after the sport’s competitions were halted due to the pandemic, had a tough task to overcome the visiting side’s fence, but a spirited fight from Akayezu and teammates delivered.

The Ghanaians, however, bounced back from opening game defeat to take the second game by two wickets, with the two teams ending the day with a victory each.

They will take a rest on Thursday before returning to action on Friday, August 20.

Both sides are using the series to prepare for the ICC men’s T20 Cricket World cup sub regional Africa qualifiers, due in Kigali from October 14-23.