Nigeria’s Junior Female Yellow Greens have secured a place at the 2027 ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup after beating Zimbabwe by four runs in the Africa Qualifier final in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Nigeria won the toss and chose to bat, posting 98 runs for six wickets from their 20 overs. Captain Christabel Chukwuonye led the scoring with 21 runs, while Beauty Oguai added 19 and Jessica Bieni scored 15.
Zimbabwe then began their chase with hopes of completing the comeback, but Nigeria’s bowlers kept the pressure on throughout the innings. Peace Usen claimed three wickets for 19 runs, while Jennifer Godwin and Anointed Akhigbe took two wickets each.
Zimbabwe reached 93 for nine in the final over, leaving Nigeria just one wicket away from victory. Akhigbe held her nerve and bowled Vanessa Nyasha Maedza with the fifth delivery of the over to seal the four-run win.
The result completes a perfect campaign for the Junior Female Yellow Greens, who won all five of their matches in Tanzania. Nigeria defeated Uganda, Malawi and hosts Tanzania in the group stage before beating Rwanda in the semi-final and Zimbabwe in the final.
The victory also sends Nigeria to the U19 Women’s T20 World Cup for a second consecutive time.
The team made its debut at the inaugural tournament in 2025 and finished sixth in Malaysia.
Nigeria will now join South Africa as Africa’s representatives at the 2027 tournament, which Bangladesh and Nepal will jointly host.
