Kenya secured advancement to Division 1 of the Women’s Under-19 World Cup qualifiers despite suffering a narrow two-wicket defeat to Malawi in their final Division 2 match in Kigali, Rwanda, on Tuesday evening.
Kenya won the toss and opted to bat first, with Kreeshna Mehta opening the innings. However, Mehta, who had delivered stellar performances in earlier matches against Mozambique and Eswatini, scoring 116 and 93 runs respectively, struggled this time, managing only eight runs off 20 balls before being dismissed by Lucy Malino.
Captain Melvin Khagoitsa emerged as Kenya’s top scorer, amassing 56 runs off 37 balls before being bowled out by Alinafe Alfonso. Kenya finished their innings at 109/8, setting a target that Malawi successfully chased down, reaching 110/8 in 19.2 overs.
This defeat marked Kenya’s first loss in the round-robin tournament, where they had previously dominated opponents including Eswatini, Botswana, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone.
Both Kenya and Malawi will now advance to the Division 1 qualifiers, where they will compete against Rwanda, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
The T20 Under-19 Women’s Cricket World Cup is scheduled to take place next year in Malaysia.
