Rwandan Teen Makes History with T20I Century Debut

Historic Debut Century for Rwandan Teen

Fanny Utagushimaninde, a cricketer from the Rwanda Women's team, has etched her name in history by becoming the first woman to score a century on her T20I debut, as reported by ESPNcricinfo. She achieved this remarkable feat with an unbeaten 111 runs off 65 balls against Ghana during the Nigeria Invitational Women's T20I Tournament at Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval in Lagos on Friday.

At the young age of 15 years and 223 days, she also set the record for being the youngest player to score a century in women's T20 internationals. The previous record for the highest score on a woman's T20I debut was held by Australia's Karen Rolton, who scored an unbeaten 96 against England in Taunton back in 2005. The youngest centurion record was previously held by Uganda's Prosscovia Alako, who was 16 years and 233 days old when she scored 116 against Mali in Kigali in 2019.

Rwanda Secures Dominant Win

In the match, Rwanda Women achieved a convincing 122-run victory over Ghana. After winning the toss, they chose to bat first, and their openers set a rapid pace. Utagushimaninde hit 17 boundaries during her outstanding innings. A late contribution from Merveille Uwase, who scored 32 runs off 19 balls, helped Rwanda reach a formidable total of 210 runs for 3 wickets in their 20 overs. Ghana's bowlers struggled to keep the run rate in check, with Grace Quaicoe, Miriam Eshun, and Ernestina Sagoe each taking one wicket.

While chasing a challenging target of 211, Ghana struggled to find their footing. Rwanda's disciplined bowling attack maintained pressure from the outset. Kate Awuah was the only player to offer some resistance for Ghana, scoring 31 runs off 56 balls.

Ultimately, Ghana was limited to 88 runs for 8 wickets at the end of their innings, falling significantly short of the target. Belyse Murekatete from Rwanda led the bowling effort, finishing with impressive figures of 3 wickets for 20 runs in 4 overs.