15-year-old Rwandan batsman Fanny Utagushimaninde created history by scoring a century in her debut match in Women’s T-20.
Rwandan batsman Fanny Utagushimaninde on Friday created history by scoring the youngest T20 century. She achieved the feat against Ghana in the Nigeria Invitational Women’s T20I tournament at the Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval, Lagos.
At the age of just 15 years and 223 days, Utagushimaninde broke the record previously held by Uganda’s Proscovia Alako, who had scored 116 against Mali in Kigali in 2019 at the age of 16 years and 233 days. He scored 111 runs in 65 balls with the help of 17 fours.
In men’s cricket, the record for the youngest T20I century is held by France’s Gustave McConn, who scored a century against Switzerland in 2022 at the age of 18 years and 280 days.
Utagushimaninde also became the first player in women’s T20I history to score a century on debut, surpassing Karen Rolton’s record of 96 runs for the highest score on women’s T20I debut against England at Taunton in 2005.
In men’s T20Is, players such as Canada’s Matthew Spurs, Serbia’s Leslie Dunbar, Namibia’s JP Kotz and Canada’s Ravinderpal Singh have scored centuries on debut, but none were from Full Member nations.
Fanny Utagushimaninde helps Rwanda defeat Ghana
Fanny Utagushimaninde scored a century as Rwanda Women produced a brilliant performance to beat Ghana Women by 122 runs.
Batting first, Rwanda scored 210/3 in 20 overs, with Utagushimaninde scoring 111 runs from 65 balls at a strike rate of 170.76. Gisele Ishimwe (14) and Clarisse Uwase (15) made useful contributions while Marvelli Uwase added a quickfire 32 runs to boost the total. Extras including 25 wides also helped Rwanda reach a strong score.
In reply, Ghana struggled to build partnerships and finished at 88/8 in 20 overs. Bailey Murekatete performed brilliantly with the ball, claiming 3/20, while Mary Bimenimana, Henriette Ishimwe and Marvelle Uwase took important wickets. Only Kate Avuah offered resistance with 31 runs from 56 balls.
Utagushimaninde’s record-breaking century earned him the Player of the Match award, while Rwanda’s clinical all-round performance underlined their dominance and set a high standard for the rest of the tournament.
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