Rwanda is in a positive mood as Martin Suji’s men continue to push for a ticket to the next stage of the ICC men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier. A win over Malawi on Monday, November 21, saw Rwanda move second in the ongoing Group A qualifier in Kigali, with six points, two behind table leaders Kenya with a game in hand. Malawi are third with six points, having played one game ahead of Rwanda. The hosts are required to win all three remaining fixtures if they are to progress to the next stage of the World Cup qualifier. Suji’s men play Seychelles and Mali on Thursday, November 24, at IPRC-Kigali Cricket ground before concluding their campaign with a test against Lesotho the following day at the same ground. Any mistake could cost Rwanda a chance to qualify. But Adelin Tuyizere, the national team assistant coach, remains positive. He said the team is relaxed and ready to cope with pressure ahead of the reminder of the qualifying campaign. “We had to avoid another defeat against Malawi after Kenya, because things would have become worse for us had the Malawians beaten us. It was the key match that we wanted to win to keep our chances of qualifying alive,” Tuyizere told Times Sport. “We learned lessons from the Kenya defeat and the men bounced back to beat Malawi. The chances of qualifying to the next round are ours to lose given the fixtures we have ahead of us. Not any of the remaining teams managed to beat us in the past and we hope to keep our win record against them in the coming fixtures,” he added. Wilson Niyitanga was impressive for Rwanda during the qualifiers campaign in Kigali. He said the team is in the right position to qualify but warned his teammates against complacency. “We are confident but we need to remain focused ahead of the next three games,” said Niyitanga.
