Nigeria and the USA both earned their first ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup wins but did so in different ways.
While the USA earned a comfortable nine-wicket victory over Ireland, Nigeria’s triumph over New Zealand went down to the final ball.
For the Americans, their maiden win came after four defeats in the inaugural edition back in 2023.
“It feels absolutely amazing,” Disha Dhingra, who scored 46 runs in the win said. “We have worked really hard, so I am glad that all of our hard work has paid off.
“Our last World Cup in South Africa was a really good learning experience, we were very new to that setting.
“We learned a lot playing other teams like Australia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and we learned a lot from the way they field compared to how we field.
“We took a lot of positives from South Africa and we really brought that over here and got better.”
The USA bowled out Ireland for 75 with Isani Vaghela taking three wickets, two of them as caught and bowled.
Dhingra then led the batting charge scoring 46 runs from 33 balls, with five fours and two sixes, to post the highest score ever made by a US batter at an U19 Women’s World Cup.
She was dismissed with the scores level before Vaghela hit the match-winning four to confirm the historic win.
And for Dhingra, it is now about doing it again.
She added: “Obviously we want another win. There is a saying that once you taste victory, the tongue wants more.
“We’re just going into that game, we want another win and I know we are going to fight for it.”
Meanwhile in Sarawak, Nigeria were playing their first-ever World Cup match with their opening tussle against Samoa washed out.
They were up against formidable opponents in New Zealand, who had made the 2023 semi-finals but were bruised from a defeat to South Africa in their first match in Malaysia.
Having been put into bat in a 13-over reduced game, Nigeria lost regular wickets but key scores from Piety Lucky (18) and Lilian Ude (19) saw them set 66 to win and gave them a fighting chance.
New Zealand had the same two high scores and lost the same number of wickets in their 13 overs. Three run outs showed they were feeling the pressure and a decisive final over from Ude confirmed Nigeria’s maiden win at their first attempt.
Lucky said: “This is a very special moment for us. There were a lot of catches, a lot of running between the wickets that I could not have done alone.
“The Nigeria camp is very excited about this win. The New Zealand side are a very good side, so we are very excited for this moment.
“Well played from the team, everyone did their best and it was a collective effort from everybody.
“We have been training for a long time. Back in the qualifiers we had so many things to do back home and work on and of course work on our weaknesses as well as our strengths.
“With our resources we have been able to pull of this win and it has been teamwork.
“Our own strategy in the Nigeria camp is one game at a time, we have taken one and there is still more to come.”
Steel Ginger
The most tries scored by a rugby player is 69 – Though Japan is yet to take the world cup, former player Daisuke Ohata holds the world record for most international tries with 69. He set the bar between 1996 and 2006 while playing on the wing and once scored eight tries in a single match. It’s going to be a long time before anyone beats that record!
Wheels
None Knows What Happened to Hansie Cronje: People who have been following South African sports for a long time must know that Hansie Cronje was behind match-fixing in 2000. Soon after the dark secret got revealed, he died in a plane crash in 2002. Many experts say it was a planned murder by the criminals behind the scandal. But due to lack of evidence, none can prove the actual cause of death, and it still lingers in the history of South African sports as one of the biggest mysteries.