Uganda’s Baby Victoria Pearls saw their bid for a place at the 2027 ICC Women’s U19 T20 World Cup come to an end after Zimbabwe U19 secured a 20-run victory in their semi-final at ESTH Oval in Dar es Salaam on Friday.
Zimbabwe will now face Nigeria in Saturday’s final of the ICC U19 Women’s World Cup Africa Division 1 Qualifier, with the winner claiming Africa’s sole qualification ticket to the global tournament in Bangladesh and Nepal.
The Baby Victoria Pearls were left with a bronze-medal play-off against Rwanda U19 after their chase of 105 fell short, finishing on 84/9 from their allotted 20 overs.
Captain Jimia Abdallah Mohammed top-scored with 24 as Uganda struggled to build momentum in the chase.
The dismissal of their skipper in the 10th over compounded their problems, while two batters departed without troubling the scorers.
Zimbabwe’s bowling attack kept the pressure on despite conceding 21 extras, and Uganda required 23 runs from the final over to pull off an unlikely comeback.
They could manage only two, sealing Zimbabwe’s passage to the final.
Earlier, Uganda had restricted Zimbabwe to 104/9 after winning the toss and opting to bowl.
The Baby Victoria Pearls employed a spin-heavy attack, using seven spinners, with Sherah Namagoba the standout bowler after returning impressive figures of 3/21 from four overs.
Sarah Tino, Mischelle Ariago and Blessing Noeline Apio claimed a wicket apiece, while Uganda also produced two run-outs in the field.
Zimbabwe captain Lorraine Pemhiwa anchored the innings with 28, supported by Tadiwanashe Makanaka Garutsa and Beloved Biza, who scored 22 and 21 respectively.
Garutsa then made another decisive contribution with the ball, taking two wickets alongside Christina Vongai Mutasa to earn Player of the Match honours.
Uganda made one change to the team that defeated Malawi, with Blessing Noeline Apio replacing Asha Mukite.
Nigeria had earlier booked their place in the final with a commanding nine-wicket victory over Rwanda in the other semi-final.
The Baby Victoria Pearls will now look to finish their campaign on the podium when they meet Rwanda in the bronze-medal play-off on Saturday morning.
