Indonesia handed Zimbabwe a loss in what was a thriller of a match at the second playoff of the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup on Friday at Willowmoore Park in Benoni. Coming into this encounter, Zimbabwe and Indonesia had lost all of their group-stage encounters so this was certainly going to be a match to watch out for. Zimbabwe won the toss and decided to bat first.
Batting first, Zimbabwe had the worst possible start losing the opening duo of Natasha Mtomba and Kay Ndiraya for golden ducks in the very first over as Ni Luh Dewi scalped these crucial wickets. Their agony continued as Kelis Ndhlovu, the skipper and Kelly Ndiraya were also dismissed subsequently by Desi Wulandari and Dewi for scores of 10 and 2 making it harder for Zimbabwe to recover. A pained 26-ball stay for 3 at the crease for Vimbai Mutungwindu and Adel Zimunu was brought to an end by Ni Ariani who was instrumental in getting rid of the duo. However, showing fight and tenacity were Tawananyasha Marumani and Danielle Miekle with their spectacular partnership as they both notched up scores of 20 with surprisingly even similar strike rates of 105.26 that ensured Zimbabwe had at least 86/8 to defend versus the brittle Indonesian batting. Ni Luh Dewi leading from the front spearheaded the bowling taking a fifer and registering figures of 5/18 as Ni Ariani was also impressive with her figures of 2/7.
Indonesia had the chance to seal the deal early with the low total but their run-chase was nerve-wracking not just for them but for the spectators as well. Losing Ni Ariani for a two-ball duck and while Kadek Kurniartini and Ni Luh Dewi kept attacking, the former’s dismissal for 3 shook the batting. The same over also saw the dismissal of Desi Wulandari for a three-ball duck that was slowly making the contest an even affair. Dewi now partnered by the new batter Therisiana Weo were stitching a partnership till Dewi was dismissed. Gusti Ulansari provided some respite with her 10 off 28 and Weo’s eventual 14 besides the unbeaten knocks of 9 and 12 by Ni Indriyani and Ni Suarniasih helped Indonesia pull off a spectacular and memorable win to end the ICC U19 Women’s World Cup on a high! Nevertheless, the Zimbabwe bowling should be credited for bowling their hearts out and for making a match out of what could have been a cakewalk for Indonesia.
Indonesia U19 beat Zimbabwe U19 by 3 Wickets.
Special World Cup victory for Indonesian girls. #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/xN82fdIN4D
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 20, 2023
Ni Luh Dewi for her out-of-the-world all-round effort of 14 runs and figures of 5/18 was awarded the ‘Player of the Match’ deservingly.
Brief Scores: ZIM – 86/8 in 20 overs (T Marumani 20, D Meikle 20; NL Dewi 5/18, N Ariani 2/7) lost to IWA- 87/7 in 18 overs (NL Dewi 14, T Weo 14; Kelis Ndhlovu 3/8, C Moyo 3/12) by 3 wickets and 12 balls remaining
🇮🇩 Indonesia U19 won by 3 wickets
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe U19: 86-8 (20)
Tawananyasha Marumani: 20 (19)
Danielle Meikle: 20 (19)
Ni Luh Ketut Dewi 5- 18🇮🇩 Indonesia U19: 87-7 (18)
Ni Luh Ketut Dewi: 14 (13)
Thersiana Penu Weo: 14 (28)
Kelis Ndhlovu 3-8#CricketTwitter #U19T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/eS7YPskagT— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 20, 2023
I am a first year postgraduate student pursuing a MA in Media and Communication Studies at Christ University, Bengaluru. I am a podcaster, blogger and an avid cricket fan. When not glued to cricket matches, you can find me submerged in books and thinking about cricket all the time.
