It was pure joy for Nigeria and heartbreak for Zimbabwe when Sunday’s final was washed out, handing the West Africans their first-ever ticket to the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025 in Malaysia.
According to the tournament playing conditions, in the case of a washout during the knockout stage, the team with the highest points during the Group stages would emerge triumphant.
Therefore, with play abandoned early in the second innings, Nigeria, whose run to the final included four wins on the trot (three wins in the group stage including a famous, one-wicket victory from the last ball of the innings against Zimbabwe, and a semi-final victory over Rwanda), were crowned champions.
Zimbabwe will be disappointed following a valiant effort in the field to restrict Nigeria to a modest score (77) and a decent start to the run-chase (19 for one after 2.3 overs) before heavy downpour to halt play.
Nigeria becomes the second African team to reach the World Cup through the qualification phase after Rwanda, who qualified for the inaugural edition in South Africa in 2022 after beating Tanzania in the final.
Nigeria captain, Piety Ebosetale Lucky said: “Every player’s dream is to represent their country at the World Cup, so this is a great honour for all of us, and I want to thank the coaching staff and the Nigeria Cricket Federation for all the support and hard work to make sure that we excel at this level.”
Third Place play-off- Uganda vs Rwanda
A nervy Rwanda side scraped past Uganda off the second-last delivery of the innings to secure third place in Kigali.
Having restricted Uganda to a modest score of 71 all out in 19.4 overs, Rwanda seemed to be cruising to victory with ease at 59 for 2 after 15 overs. However, Lona Anyait picked up two wickets while Mischelle Ariago trapped Rwanda’s captain and set-batter, Shakila Niyomuhoza, leg before wicket, going on to pick two more wickets in the 18th and 20th overs, to give her side a fighting chance.
Needing one run off the last two deliveries, Sandrine Izabayo dissected the point region for one to seal the hosts’ victory and set off wild jubilations at Gahanga Cricket Stadium.
In her post-match remarks, Rwanda captain Niyomuhoza expressed relief at the result but said her team would have plenty to work on moving forward. She said: “We are grateful for the victory, but reflecting on the entire tournament, there’s a lot to learn from and improve on across the board.”
It was a disappointing outing for the hosts, who qualified for the inaugural ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2022.
Zimbabwe’s Beloved Biza emerged as the Player of the Tournament after a stellar all-round display with both bat and ball. She scored 156 runs in four innings at an average of 39.00 and a strike rate of 111.43. Biza also finished second on the bowling charts with 11 wickets at an economy of 3.22.
Nigeria’s Victory Osaivbie Igbinedion picked up the best batter award after scoring 177 runs in five innings at an average of 59.00.
Uganda’s right-arm off-break bowler Lona Anyait won the best bowler award after taking 12 wickets in five innings at an economy of 4.54.
President of Rwanda Cricket Association, Stephen Musaale, said: “As expected, we have been treated to some excellent cricket over the past week, and I want to thank all teams for the effort on the field. I know it was not the ideal final, but I want to congratulate Nigeria for qualifying for the World Cup. I think results throughout the tournament show that they have been the most consistent side and deserve everything that’s come their way.
“I also want to thank the ICC, the organising team, the umpires, the scorers and the volunteers for making the tournament seamless.”
Match Summaries
Nigeria vs Zimbabwe:
Nigeria U19: 77/8 (20 overs)
Zimbabwe U19: 19/1 (2.3 overs)
Play abandoned due to bad weather
Match Scorecard
Uganda vs Rwanda:
Uganda U19: 71/10 (19.4 overs)
Rwanda U19: 72/7 (19.5 overs)
Rwanda won by three wickets
Match Scorecard
Digital Equinox
Sport Trivia: Where did Naas Botha play his first test match for South Africa? Answer: Wanderers – Naas Botha was selected to play for South Africa at Rugby Union after playing for the SA Under 20 squad. He made his debut against South America on 26 April 1980 at the Wanderers Stadium, recognised as a cricket ground. This was due to the fact that Ellis Park had been demolished in 1979 to be rebuilt.
Hemingway Mirmillone
In 1989, along with Sachin Tendulkar, 23 other cricketers made their International debuts. The last one to retire before Sachin, was New Zealand\’s Chris Cairns, who retired in 2004.