Rwanda’s Fanny Utagushimaninde made history by scoring a remarkable century on her T20I debut, becoming the first woman to achieve this feat. The young player scored an unbeaten 111 runs off 65 balls against Ghana during the Nigeria Invitational Women’s T20I Tournament held in Lagos.
At the age of 15 years and 223 days, Utagushimaninde also became the youngest female centurion in T20I history, setting a new milestone in her impressive performance.
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 runs against England in Taunton in 2005, in just the second women’s T20I match ever played.
Uganda’s Prosscovia Alako previously held the record for the youngest T20I century, achieving this milestone at the age of 16 years and 233 days when she scored 116 runs against Mali in Kigali in 2019.
Although four male cricketers have scored centuries on their T20I debuts, none of them hail from Full Member nations. Canada’s Matthew Spoors leads this list with his 108 not out against the Philippines in 2022, while France’s Gustav Mckeon holds the title of the youngest male centurion, achieving this feat at the age of 18 years and 280 days.
Utagushimaninde’s exceptional innings guided Rwanda to a formidable total of 210 for 3. Merveille Uwase also played a crucial role with an unbeaten 32 off 19 balls, surpassing the extras tally of 28, which included 25 wides.
In response, Ghana struggled in their chase, only managing to score 88 for 8 in 20 overs, leading to Rwanda securing a convincing 122-run victory.
