Nigeria face Rwanda in U-19 W’Cup qualifier semis

Nigeria’s women’s U-19 cricket team, the Junior Female Yellow Greens, will face their rivals from East Africa, Rwanda, in one of the semi-finals of the 2025 ICC Women’s T20 U-19 World Cup Africa Qualifier (Division 1) on Saturday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Having qualified with a game to spare on Monday, the Junior Female Yellow Greens cemented the top spot in Group B of Division 1 on Wednesday with a comprehensive 86-run win over Malawi, setting up the last-four clash against Uganda/Rwanda, who finished second in Group A.

Nigeria eased past Malawi at the Gahanga 2 Oval as captain Lucky Piety won the toss for the first time in the competition and elected to bat first.

The decision proved smart as the Nigerian cruised to 147 runs for the loss of four wickets in the first innings.

Malawi had their moments while bowling, as they ran out, caught, and bowled out four of Nigeria’s six batters in the game.

But their chase wasn’t any easy in the second innings, which saw Nigeria limit them to just 61 runs for the loss of 10 wickets in 18.1 overs.

Captain Piety, Peace Usen, and Kehinde Amusa got two wickets each in the process.

Nigeria’s semi-final opponent, Uganda/Rwanda, have been in good shape at the tournament, reaching the last four by winning their opening two games and with a game to spare as well.

Rwanda, however, finished second in their group after losing by 46 runs when they faced off with joint-table toppers, Uganda, in their last group game.

Zimbabwe, who finished second behind Nigeria, will take on Uganda in the second semi-final.

The winner of the qualifying tournament will pick Africa’s second ticket to the World Cup in Malaysia after South Africa had booked their place as one of the top finishers from the last World Cup.