Rwanda snared their second big scalp of the U19 World Cup as they got the better of West Indies. Disciplined bowling from Rosine Irera and Henriette Ishimwe frustrated West Indies openers as they were kept to 11/0 in the first four overs. Hereafter, leg-spinners Zurufat Ishimwe (2/20) and Sylvia Usabyimana (4/20) utilised the wicket’s turn by pitching the ball up. They were aided by some erratic batting aimed at upping the scoring rate, reducing the batting team to 49/5 at the halfway stage. Two West Indies batters were stumped in their pursuit of dominating the spinners. The introduction of Marie Tumukunde (4/8) in the 11th over further helped the West Indies slide, the team were 58/8 after 12.3 overs. West Indies were eventually bowled out for 70. In contrast to Rwanda, West Indies backed their pacers during the Powerplay overs. This bore immediate rewards, with Jahzara Claxton (1/16) and Jannillea Glasgow (1/16) reducing the African team to 13/2. Cynthia Tuyizere (12 from 21) and Gisele Ishimwe (31* from 53) gave the batting team some stability with a partnership of 19, but the West Indies spinners wreaked havoc in the middle overs. Rwanda slipped from a stable 32/2 to 40/6 in a space of 22 balls. Hereafter, Gisele and Irera (8* from 14) kept their calm and helped Rwanda overhaul the target. Their intentful running was assisted by a few errors on the field by West Indies. The girls may be out of the tournament but Sunday’s victory saw Rwanda become the first ever Associate nation to beat two full members of the International Cricket Council in an edition of any women’s World Cup.
