Nigeria’s Junior Female YellowGreens have completed a flawless Group A campaign at the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier, defeating hosts Tanzania by 57 runs in their final group encounter to finish top of the standing with a maximum six points.
Playing at the NTS, TCA Cricket Arena in Dar es Salaam, Nigeria won the toss and elected to bat, posting 133 for 7 in 20 overs before restricting the hosts to 76 for 8 from their allotted 20 overs.
The victory was another statement of Nigeria’s growing authority in the competition, coming against a Tanzania side playing on home soil and backed by a passionate home crowd.
At the heart of Nigeria’s batting performance was Player of the Match Omosigho Eguakun, who produced her most commanding innings of the tournament, scoring an assured 50 from 46 balls, including seven boundaries.
Her half-century provided the foundation for Nigeria’s 133-run total, while Peace Usen added a valuable 32 from 35 balls, including four boundaries. Deborah Bassey also provided a late surge with an explosive 14 from just eight deliveries.
Eguakun’s performance was subsequently recognised with the Player of the Match award, capping an impressive group-stage campaign for the young Nigerian batter.
With a competitive target on the board, Nigeria’s bowling unit delivered another disciplined performance.
Chisom Okpe was particularly influential, claiming 2 wickets for 14 runs in four overs, while Jennifer Godwin returned outstanding figures of 2 for 9 from two overs.
Shola Adekunle also impressed with 1 wicket for just nine runs in four overs, including a maiden, while Glory Idiahi picked up one wicket for four runs.
Tanzania struggled to build sustained momentum throughout their innings. Captain Saumu Hussein top-scored with 29 from 40 balls, while Rahma Yahaya contributed 21, but Nigeria’s disciplined attack kept the hosts to 76 for 8.
The victory completes an impressive group-stage journey for the Junior Female YellowGreens.
Nigeria opened campaign here with a narrow four-wicket victory over Uganda, before producing a dominant performance against Malawi. They then closed out Group A by defeating hosts Tanzania by 57 runs.
The progression is significant: Against Uganda, Nigeria showed resilience. Against Malawi, the ladies showed dominance. Against Tanzania, they showed control.
Three different challenges have produced three victories, evidence of a team developing the maturity and composure required at international level.
The Junior Female YellowGreens will face Rwanda, the second-placed team from Group B, in the semi-final today.
For Nigeria, the semi-final represents another opportunity for this emerging generation of female cricketers to demonstrate the quality, confidence and competitive character that have defined their campaign so far.
The task now is to turn a perfect group-stage record into a place in the final.
Three wins have taken Nigeria to the semi-final. One more win will take the Junior Female YellowGreens to the final.
