The Lions of Teranga started on the front foot and were almost rewarded with a very early lead on multiple occasions. After just four minutes played, Botswana goalkeeper Goitseone Phoko made a great block to deny Jackson before Pape Gueye blazed the ball over the bar.
60 seconds later, Phoko was forced into urgent action again as he made a smart stop to prevent Sadio Mané’s close-range header from finding the back of the net.
After a quarter of an hour played, it was a case of Botswana just hanging in there as Phoko came to the Zebras’ rescue again with an outstanding save to tip Iliman Ndiaye’s effort around the post.
As very heavy rain poured down, Pape Thiaw’s side continued to pepper Botswana’s defence as Jackson saw a close-range volley flash narrowly over the bar while Phoko made another inspired save to deny Ismaïla Sarr from 12 yards out.
With half time looming, Botswana’s resistance was finally broken as Ismail Jakobs picked out an unmarked Jackson inside the box and he slotted the ball home confidently from around eight yards out to edge Senegal in front in the 40th minute.
There was absolutely no question that the Lions of Teranga deserved to be in the lead at the interval, but the Zebras did well to still be in contention at the midway point.
However, they couldn’t live with the appetite of Jackson, who netted a brace against Kenya only last month.
Duly, the Bayern man doubled Senegal’s advantage just before the hour mark, when he received a pass inside the box from Sarr and guided the ball past Phoko, all but ending the game with the very first meaningful opportunity of the second half.
At this stage, the 2021 AFCON champions were all over the lowest-ranked team in the tournament. Thankfully for Botswana, Phoko was in sensational form and made a superb stop to prevent Mané from opening his goal account in the 65th minute.
With a quarter of an hour remaining, Jackson should have been celebrating a hat-trick, but somehow lifted the ball over the bar from eight yards out after beautifully turning past his marker.
The icing on the cake was served with 90 minutes on the clock as Cherif Ndiaye steered the ball home after receiving a quality pass from Cheikh Sabaly.
With a victory that looked like a mere formality by the end, Senegal joined earlier winners DR Congo on three points in Group D, and will face the Leopards in their next match on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Botswana are still searching for their first-ever victory at an AFCON tournament, and will come up against Benin in their next group game, with any losing side likely to find themselves on an early plane home.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nicolas Jackson (Senegal)