Sports

Nigeria’s U-19 Women’s Cricket Team Qualify For 2025 T20 World Cup

Published

3 months ago

Sep 30, 2024.

Dennis

Nigeria’s U-19 women’s cricket team, the Junior Female Greens, have secured qualification for the 2025 ICC U-19 T20 World Cup in Malaysia after clinching the Africa Qualifier Division 1 title in Kigali, Rwanda, on Sunday.

Their place in the global tournament was confirmed after rain interrupted Zimbabwe’s innings during the final at the Gahanga Cricket Oval, leaving Nigeria unbeaten and at the top of the qualifier standings.

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This marks the second time a Nigerian cricket team has reached a World Cup, the first being the men’s U-19 squad, who qualified for the 2019 World Cup in South Africa.

Sunday’s final was a rematch between Nigeria and Zimbabwe, with the two sides having faced off in the group stages, where Nigeria secured a dramatic one-wicket victory. This set the stage for another intense encounter against the Test-playing nation.

Nigeria’s captain, Lucky Piety, won the toss and chose to bat first. Despite a strong bowling performance from Zimbabwe, Victory Igbinedion’s 23 runs off 18 balls were the standout in a challenging first innings, as Nigeria posted 77 runs for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs.

Zimbabwe began their chase, reaching 19 runs for the loss of one wicket in just 2.3 overs before rain halted play, handing Nigeria the victory.