Nigeria’s Junior Female Yellow Greens have qualified for the ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup for the second time after defeating Zimbabwe by four runs in the Africa Qualifier Division 1 final in Tanzania on Saturday September 5.
Batting first after winning the toss, Nigeria posted 98 runs for six wickets in 20 overs. Captain Christabel Chukwuonye led the scoring with 21 runs, while Beauty Oguai and Jessica Bieni made 19 and 15 respectively. Deborah Bassey’s late 10 runs from four balls helped the team set a competitive target.
Zimbabwe were bowled out for 94 in 19.5 overs, with Peace Usen taking three wickets for 19 runs. Jennifer Godwin claimed two wickets, while Shola Adekunle and Anointed Akhigbe also struck. Akhigbe produced the decisive moment in the final over, bowling Vanessa Nyasha Maedza with the fifth delivery to seal Nigeria’s victory.
The qualification marks Nigeria’s second appearance at the global U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup and highlights the growing depth of talent in the country’s women’s cricket development programme. The Junior Female Yellow Greens will now represent Nigeria on the world stage once again.
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