Kuala Lumpur: Debutants Nigeria scripted the unimaginable as they stunned a formidable New Zealand by two runs for a historic win in a rain-interrupted low-scoring thriller of the ICC Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup in which both sides were restricted for under-70 totals here on Monday.
Nigeria scored 65-6 batting first, before producing an energetic display on the field derailed New Zealand’s run chase.
The Kiwis were 57-5, needing nine runs with one over to go in the 13-over contest. However, tight bowling from pacer Lilian Udeh got them over the line with the Kiwis falling short by just two runs.
Udeh (19) and skipper Lucky Piety (18) were the only ones to hit double figures in the game for Nigeria, while Anika Todd top-scored for New Zealand with a 19-run effort.
Football and athletics are popular sports in Nigeria, unlike in the south of the continent (South Africa, Zimbabwe) where cricket has a big fan following.
But the Nigerian girls placed the spotlight on their country’s cricketing growth by becoming the first West African country to qualify for a global tournament and then producing the biggest shock by upsetting an ICC full member nation in a Group C match.
The Nigerians were left to wait for an opportunity after their contest with Samoa on Saturday was abandoned due to rain.
Wet weather again threatened the proceedings in Sarawak, but the African nation made the most of their chances once it was confirmed there would be play, albeit a reduced contest of 13 overs each.
In another match of the day, Australia beat Bangladesh by two wickets in a tense Group D match and all but secured their progression to the next stage.
USA also announced itself as a World Cup force after stunning Ireland in Johor, winning by nine wickets and drastically improving their net run rate position in Group B.
