Unbeaten Baby Victoria Pearls outwash Malawi to set up a semifinal clash against Zimbabwe.
Malawi 44/10 in 16 overs
Uganda 46/0 in 7.3 overs
In the ICC Women’s U19 T20 World Cup Qualifiers for Africa Division One, Uganda continued their dominance against Malawi with a 10-wicket win to set up a match against Zimbabwe in the semifinals.
Uganda won the toss and opted to bowl first. During the first innings, the Baby Victoria Pearls restricted Malawi to 44 runs all out in 16 overs and in the second innings the team impressively completed the chase in just 7.3 overs.
With the bowling, Sarah Tino led the attack with 3 wickets, conceding only 7 runs to post an economy of 1.75. Tino took her tally to 10 wickets in three games, having taken 5 in the loss to Nigeria and 2 in the victory over Tanzania.
Divine Gabriella Nyamweru also got 3 wickets, including the last one to fall for Malawi, with Mischelle Ariago taking the catch to dismiss Bridget Kasinga. Sheilah Namagoba also picked 2 wickets in 2 overs.
Batting in chase of the target of 45 runs in 20 overs, Uganda needed only the opening pair of Captain Jimia Muhammad Abdallah and Shadia Gilingish Nabulime to finish the game with 46 runs from just 45 balls faced.
Nabulime scored 30 runs from 21 balls, Jimia added 12 runs from 24 balls, while Malawi bowlers helped the Baby Victoria Pearls with 4 extras.
To reach the semifinals scheduled for tomorrow, September 3, the team had to wait for the results from Nigeria against Tanzania and the game ended with Nigeria posting 57 runs.
On the other hand, Botswana led Group B after beating Kenya, Rwanda and Namibia. Therefore, Uganda and Zimbabwe will face off while Nigeria will take on Rwanda in the other semifinal.
Winners shall advance to the final scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 5, and the winner of the qualifier shall take the direct slot to represent Africa in Bangladesh and Nepal at the 2027 ICC Women’s U19 T20 World Cup.