As it happened against Tanzania, Nigeria lost the toss and Zimbabwe elected to bat first, leaving the Junior Yellow Greens to run rings around their batters with impressive bowling numbers.

First, it was Peace Usen who poached three wickets in four overs with 16 runs, setting the tone for a slow run of events for the Zims.

Player of the Match against Tanzania, Lillian Ude then stepped up to afflict the Zimbabweans further with a three-wicket haul to bring her tournament total to eight. It was Anointed Akhigbe who sealed the first innings with another delivery that limited Zimbabwe’s score to 77 runs for the loss of 10 wickets in 19.4 overs.

Nigeria stepped up to chase the score with caution, given the pedigree of their opponents, and what seemed a fairytale run was chased down by the Zimbabweans, as Nigerian batters hardly came to the party.

Omosigho Eguakun and Peculiar Agboya managed double-digit scores (15 and 13 runs, respectively), and most batters froze under the experienced bowling prowess of Christina Mutasa, Beloved Biza, and Runyararo Pasipanody, who took two wickets each. Olinder Chare and Kelis Ndholvu took one each to leave Nigeria in jeopardy of defeat with one run to go on the last ball.

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