By Dorcas Francis Koji
Nigeria’s Junior Female Yellow Greens booked their place in the semi-finals of the 2027 ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier Division 1 in emphatic fashion after defeating Malawi by 94 runs in Tanzania on Monday.
The Nigerian youngsters followed up their opening four-wicket victory over Uganda with an even more dominant display, combining disciplined batting with a devastating bowling performance to secure their second consecutive win in the competition.
After Malawi won the toss and opted to bowl, Nigeria posted an imposing 152 for seven in 20 overs.
Omosigho Eguakun continued her impressive tournament with 26 runs from 19 balls, while Beauty Oguai also scored 26 from 28 deliveries, hitting four boundaries.
Captain Christabel Chukwuonye provided a late surge with a quickfire 20 from just 12 balls, including two fours and a six.
However, Shola Adekunle produced one of the most important contributions of the innings, scoring 32 from 27 balls with five boundaries to help Nigeria reach a challenging total.
Malawi struggled badly in their chase as Nigeria’s bowlers maintained relentless pressure from the beginning of the innings.
Adekunle continued her excellent all-round performance with the ball, taking two wickets for only four runs in four overs, including a maiden over.
Anointed Akhigbe also claimed two wickets for 10 runs in three overs, while Jennifer Godwin delivered the most destructive spell of the match.
Godwin finished with four wickets for just five runs in 2.3 overs, helping Nigeria dismantle Malawi’s batting order.
The Junior Female Yellow Greens reduced Malawi to 31 for five before the innings eventually collapsed, with the final wicket falling at 58 runs in 18.3 overs.
Sphiwe Frank was Malawi’s leading scorer with 24 runs, while Shavon Akileni contributed 14, but neither player could inspire a recovery against Nigeria’s disciplined bowling attack.
Adekunle’s outstanding performance with both bat and ball earned her the Player of the Match award.
With victories over Uganda and Malawi, Nigeria have collected four points and moved to the top of Group A with an impressive net run rate of 3.467.
The Junior Female Yellow Greens will play their final group match against hosts Tanzania on Wednesday as they look to maintain their unbeaten run.
Nigeria will then face one of the four teams in Group B , Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda or Zimbabwe in the semi-finals.
The team’s commanding start has placed them firmly among the leading contenders for the African qualification ticket as they continue their quest for a place at the 2027 ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup.
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