New Delhi: Rwanda batter Fanny Utagushimaninde scripted history by becoming the youngest T20I centurion. Utagushimaninde achieved the milestone against Ghana in the Nigeria Invitational Women’s T20I Tournament at Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval in Lagos. Hitting a double milestone, she also became the first woman to score a century on T20I debut.
At the age of just 15 years and 223 days, she shattered the record previously held by Uganda’s Prosscovia Alako, who scored 116 against Mali in Kigali in 2019 at 16 years and 233 days. Turning out to be the brightest talent in women’s cricket, Utagushimaninde smashed 111 runs off 65 balls which included as many as 17 boundaries.
✅ First woman to score a hundred on T20I debut
✅ Youngest to score a hundred in women’s T20IsRwanda’s Fanny Utagushimaninde makes history 👏 🇷🇼 pic.twitter.com/xHCTSeG1Y9
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 21, 2026
Utagushimaninde’s century helps Rwanda win
The Rwanda player surpassed Karen Rolton’s record of 96 not out against England in Taunton in 2005 for the highest score on Women’s T20I debut. On back of blistering century, Rwanda Women delivered a comprehensive performance to beat Ghana Women by 122 runs.
Batting first, Rwanda posted 210/3 in 20 overs on back of a power-packed century by Utagushimaninde. In reply, Ghans could not muster courage in front of good bowling from Rwanda as they just managed 88/8 in 20 overs. Utagushimaninde’s record-breaking century earned her the Player of the Match award, with Rwanda asserting dominance for the rest of the tournament.
On the contrary in men’s cricket, the youngest T20I centurion record is held by France’s Gustav McKeon, who scored a hundred against Switzerland in 2022 at 18 years and 280 days. In men’s T20Is, players such as Canada’s Matthews Spoors, Serbia’s Leslie Dunbar, Namibia’s JP Kotze, and Canada’s Ravinderpal Singh have scored hundreds on debut, but none were from full-member nations.