Nigeria created history on Monday (January 20) as they stunned New Zealand to register victory in their first ever ICC Women’s U19 World Cup match.
Nigeria made their tournament debut in the current edition. Their first game was against Samoa on Saturday and although they would have liked to start their campaign with a win, the clash was abandoned due to rain.
However, the washed out game did not dampen their spirits as they produced a fine all-round display to register a historic victory over New Zealand. The wet weather again threatened to play spoilsport, but Nigeria had plenty of time to win after it was confirmed to be played even though the game was reduced to a 13-over side contest.
Nigeria beat New Zealand in ICC Women’s U19 World Cup 2025:
Batting first, Nigeria scored 65/6 in the allotted 13 overs. After being the first to go early, captain Piety Lucky and Lilian Ude steadied the ship for the African team. Lucky and Ude were the only Nigerian batsmen to reach double figures. Ude was the top scorer for her side, scoring 19, while Lucky scored 18.
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For New Zealand, Anika Tauwhare was the pick of the bowlers, taking 1 wicket for just 6 runs in 3 overs. After the bowlers managed to restrict Nigeria to a modest total, the onus was on the New Zealand batsmen to take their team over the line.
However, the batsmen failed to capitalize on the excellent performance by the bowlers as New Zealand ended up losing the match by 2 runs. They completed their changes in 63/6. New Zealand lost both their openers within three overs before Eve Wolland (14) and Anika Todd (19) steadied the ship. Captain Tash Wakelin also played a crucial knock of 18 runs.
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In the final, New Zealand needed 9 runs to win with 5 wickets in hand. However, Ude came up with an excellent bowling display to lead her team to a famous victory.
