admin
RWANDA registered a historic victory at a cricket World Cup after their Under-19 team beat Zimbabwe by 39 runs in their second group match at the ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup 2023 in Potchefstroom, South Africa, yesterday.
Rwanda’s top three scored the bulk of their 119 runs with none of the other batters getting into double-figures, but they defended their total fiercely. They had Zimbabwe 80 for 5 before capping victory with five wickets in six balls including four in four balls by seamer Henriette Ishimwe. Her hat-trick is the second at this tournament after South Africa’s Madison Landsman took the competition’s first against Scotland on Monday.
The Zimbabweans collapse started with a run-out in the 17th over, when victory already seemed to be evading their grasp. They needed 39 runs off 14 balls when Adel Zimunu was run-out by Rwanda captain Giselle Ishimwe.
Henriette — no relation — then stepped up to bowl the 19th over. She bowled Kudzai Chigora, had Olinder Chare given out lbw and then removed both Chipo Moyo and Faith Ndlalambi’s stumps to seal victory with eight balls remaining.
She told ESPNcricinfo that all four deliveries were “yorkers, because that’s a delivery I practice a lot.”
Her performance in this match built on her form leading into the tournament. Henriette also took 2 for 19 in Rwanda’s one-run win over Ireland in the warm-up matches, and has been capped 44 times for the senior side as well.
Rwanda’s victory may come as bittersweet for their coach Leonard Nhamburo, who is Zimbabwean and was previously involved with their senior women’s side, as an assistant coach and interim head coach. Nhamburo is experienced on the continent and has also coached the Namibian national women’s team before moving to Rwanda in 2021.
Rwanda won a crucial encounter against Zimbabwe by 39 runs to bolster their chances of making it to the Super Six stage of the tournament.
Merveille Uwase (18 from 33) and Cynthia Tuyizere (30 from 44) were watchful yet solid in a partnership of 49, as Rwanda focussed on saving their wickets in the first 10 overs. An aggressive knock from skipper Ishimwe (34 from 23) guided them to a competitive total of 119/8.
Coming off a number of poor batting performances, Zimbabwe were immediately put under pressure by a disciplined Rwanda. By the 12th over, the asking rate had jumped to over eight runs an over. After the settled Kelly Ndiraya (20 from 38) fell to a brilliant diving catch from Sylvia Usabyimana, Zimbabwe lost the plot and never came close to their target. Henriette Ishimwe ended their misery with a double hat-trick (4/13).
This is Rwanda’s first win at an ICC World Cup.
Meanwhile, Ireland collapsed on a good batting wicket to hand New Zealand an easy 9-wicket win.
Already weakened by the loss of skipper Amy Hunter due to an injury, Ireland’s batters compounded their problem by losing four wickets, two of them to poor running between wickets, during the powerplay overs. The innings never recovered from this start as they were shot out for 95. Medium pacer Natasha Codyre (3/6) was the pick of New Zealand’s bowlers.
The Kiwis made merry with the bat on a decent strip to chase down the target with 79 balls to spare. Having lost both their group games so far, Ireland will need to be at their best against Indonesia to make it to the next stage of the tournament.
Zimbabwe v Rwanda Scorecard
Rwanda Under-19s 119 for 8 (Gisele 34, Moyo 3-22) beat Zimbabwe Under-19s 80 all out (Mtomba 20, Henriette 4-13) by 39 runs. – ESPNCricinfo/ICC Cricket
Online Reporter