For 19.1 overs, Rwanda’s World Cup dream slowly slipped away.

Rwanda arrived in the semi-final believing they had earned their chance. After recovering from an opening defeat to Zimbabwe with victories over Namibia and Kenya, the young side had built momentum, confidence and belief as they reached the last four.

But against Nigeria on Thursday in Dar es Salaam, everything unravelled.

Rwanda were bowled out for just 65, their lowest total of the tournament, leaving Nigeria with a modest target. The West Africans needed only 10.4 overs to reach 66 for one, sealing a nine-wicket victory and ending Rwanda’s hopes of qualifying for the 2027 ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup.

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The warning signs appeared early.

Rwanda struggled to build partnerships and could not sustain the momentum that had carried them through their previous two victories.

Thania Uwase Niyorukundo was the top scorer with 20 off 28 balls, including two fours, while Deborah Uwase made 11 from 21 deliveries.

Ruth Uwimana also contributed 11 off 17 balls, but wickets continued to fall at regular intervals.

Fanny Utagushimaninde, one of Rwanda’s standout performers during the campaign, managed only seven runs from nine balls as Nigeria’s bowlers maintained the pressure and dismantled the hosts’ batting order.

With Rwanda restricted to 65, Nigeria faced little difficulty completing the chase.

Omosigho Eguakun led the way with an unbeaten 35 off 29 balls, while Shola Adekunle added 26 from 26. Adekunle had earlier taken two wickets to help undermine Rwanda’s innings.

For Rwanda, the defeat was a painful end to a campaign that had promised much more after a difficult start.

They showed character to bounce back from the loss to Zimbabwe, beating Namibia and Kenya to reach the semi-finals and giving the young squad valuable experience against some of Africa’s strongest U19 teams.

But when the biggest test arrived, Nigeria proved sharper and more clinical.

The defeat leaves Rwanda out of the final and ends their hopes of securing Africa’s qualification ticket to the 2027 ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup.

They will, however, have a chance to finish third when they play in the third-place match on Saturday.