West Indies Under-19 women suffered a surprise four-wicket defeat on Sunday to Rwanda Under-19 women in their first Super 6 match of the ICC Women’s U19 T20 World Cup at the Senwes Cricket Stadium.
This means they will not qualify for Friday’s semi-finals.
Following their ten-wicket loss to New Zealand, West Indies’ struggles with the bat continued as they were bowled out for 70 runs in 16.3 overs. Rwanda’s chase was not as convincing as the Kiwis’ on Thursday, but they prevailed all the same, getting to 71-6 with 10 balls to spare.
Electing to bat first, West Indies lost their top scorer in the competition Zaida James early on for just seven runs as she held out to mid off trying to accelerate the scoring against the spin bowling of Zurufat Ishimwe.
Rwanda’s spin trio of Ishimwe, Sylvia Usabyimana and Marie Tumukunde bamboozled the West Indies batters, leaving a procession line of single digit scores in their wake. The only score of note came from opener Realeanna Grimmond who scored 18 in her first game in the tournament after replacing Shunelle Sawh.
Rwanda were cautious in their chase against some initially disciplined bowling, ending the powerplay on 25-2 including the wicket of key batter Henriette Ishimwe for a first ball duck. When Cynthia Tuyizere was run out on 12 in the ninth over after some comedic running between the wickets at 32-3, an unlikely victory looked on for the West Indies.
The African side slipped to 40-6 and in need of a significant contribution. Step forward Captain Fantastic Gisele Ishimwe. Striding to the crease in the fourth she quickly settled and then produced a mature knock of 31 runs from 54 balls built on running hard between the wickets and keeping the strike away from tailenders.
She didn’t have it all her own way though, as she sold her partner Marie Tumukunde short in the 12th over, and nearly ran out Rosine Irera in the 18th, as she looked for quick singles. However she would see her side home, gaining a precious two points in the process.
Up next for West Indies U19 Women is a final Super 6 match against England on Wednesday.
Summarised Scores:
West Indies U19 Women 70 all out in 16.3 overs (Realeanna Grimmond 18; Marie Tumukunde 4-8, Slyvia Usabyimana 4-20). Rwanda U19 Women 71-6 in 18.2 overs (Gisele Ishimwe 31, Cynthia Tuyizere 12). Rwanda won by four wickets with 10 balls to spare.
