Online Reporter
Brandon Moyo
ZIMBABWE Women’s Under-19 cricket team have booked their spot in the semi-finals of the ongoing ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier following a 13 runs victory over Tanzania in a make-or-break tie in Kigali, Rwanda, on Wednesday afternoon.
The Kelis Ndhlovu captained Zimbabwe Under-19 women’s national team will now face Uganda in the semi-finals tomorrow afternoon.
They were in Group B during the pool stages and they began their campaign with a convincing 144 runs win over Malawi before they went on to suffer a shock one wicket loss at the hands of Nigeria.
Zimbabwe needed to win against Tanzania to keep their hopes of qualifying for the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup alive. A win against Uganda in tomorrow’s semi will take them one victory away from securing a ticket to the global showpiece next year.
In their do-or-die game against Tanzania, the young Lady Chevrons won the toss and elected to bat first and scored 113/7. They went on to restrict their opponents to 100 /9 in 20 overs to book their spot in the tournament’s last four.
Runyararo Pasipanodya top scored for Zimbabwe with 35 runs off 39 deliveries while Passionate Munorwei chipped in with 21 runs from 35 deliveries.
The skipper Ndhlovu made 16 runs from 15 balls with Tawananyasha Marumani making 14 runs off nine balls. The quartet were the only Zimbabwean batters to cross double figures with the bat.
Lightness Eluid Elisha had the best bowling figures for Tanzania. She finished with figures of 2/ 16 in her four over spell while Agnes Joseph Qwele, Jenipher Gabriel Kimaro, Josephine Ulirk Shirima and Maria Lucas Massawe took one wicket apiece.
In their defence, it was Chipo Moyo who had Zimbabwe’s best figures with ball in hand. The youngster had brilliant figures of 2/6 in her three over spell while Ndhlovu, Beloved Biza and Olinder Chare took one wicket each. Kimaro top scored for Tanzania with 47 runs off 45 balls while the only other batter that managed to cross double figures was Farida Amiry Kinyumbi with 12 runs from 17 deliveries.
With Zimbabwe facing Uganda in the semis, the other semi-final encounter will be between Nigeria and the hosts, Rwanda. The ongoing tournament features eight teams who are all competing for the lone ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025 ticket.
The eight competing teams are divided into two groups. Group A includes Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda and Uganda, while Group B features Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
The top two teams from each group will progress to the semi-finals. The winners will then contest for that coveted lone World Cup spot in a final slated for September 29 at Gahanga Cricket Ground.
Fourteen teams are already through to the World Cup, including the 10 full-member teams from the inaugural ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa – Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.
Tournament hosts Malaysia, Samoa (winners of the East Asia-Pacific regional qualifier), Scotland (winners of the Europe regional qualifier) and the USA, who received automatic qualification as the only team in the Americas region to meet the criteria required for the qualification pathway.
In November 2024, Kuwait, Nepal, Thailand and host United Arab Emirates will compete in a double round-robin format for the 16th and final qualification slot. — @brandon_malvin
