Playing in the T20 World Cup for the first time, Nigeria’s women’s under-19 team delivered a stunning performance, defeating New Zealand by two runs in the Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup. The rain-affected match saw both teams struggling to reach even 70 runs. Due to weather conditions, the game was reduced to 13 overs per side. Batting first, Nigeria scored 65 runs for six wickets in 13 overs. In response, New Zealand managed only 63 runs for five wickets, falling short of the target and facing an unexpected defeat.
New Zealand Fails to Score Nine Runs in the Final Over
After restricting Nigeria to a low total, New Zealand looked in control at the end of the 12th over, reaching 57 runs for five wickets, needing nine runs from the final over to win. Lillian Udeh bowled the last over for Nigeria and conceded only four runs in the first four balls. The fifth ball resulted in no run, and on the last ball, New Zealand could only manage two runs, with their captain, Tash Wakelin, getting run out in an attempt to steal a quick run.
For Nigeria, Udeh scored 19 runs, and captain Lucky Piety added 18 runs, making them the only players to reach double figures. For New Zealand, Anika was the top scorer with 19 runs.
Nigeria is a country where football and athletics dominate sports culture, but this young women’s cricket team has sparked interest in the sport. Nigeria became the first team from the West African region to qualify for this global tournament and marked a significant achievement by defeating an ICC Full Member nation in a Group C match.
Earlier, Nigeria’s scheduled match against Samoa on Saturday was washed out due to rain. Even in the game against New Zealand, the weather played a role, restricting the match to 13 overs per side. However, despite the challenges, Nigeria emerged victorious in this low-scoring thriller.