Ivory Coast managed just seven runs in a 264-run defeat to Nigeria in Lagos on Sunday, marking the lowest score ever recorded in a men’s Twenty20 International.
After winning the toss and opting to bat, Nigeria’s Selim Salau scored 112 off 53 balls as the hosts posted 271 in the 2026 T20 World Cup regional qualifier.
Ivory Coast’s meek reply saw opener Ouattara Mohamed top-score with four runs at the Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval, with Mimi Alex, Maiga Ibrahim and Dje Claude each adding one run to the total. Six batters fell for ducks.
The previous lowest score in a men’s T20 was 10 runs, held jointly by Mongolia and the Isle of Man. The lowest total in a women’s T20i is six – shared by Maldives and Mali.
The 264-run margin of defeat was also the third-highest in a men’s T20i.
In Ivory Coast’s first qualifier, they tallied 21 runs in defeat to Sierra Leone, while there have also been comparitively low scores in the other two groups in Africa’s regional qualifiers, from nations where cricket is not typically a widely-played sport.
South Africa have already pre-qualified for the 2026 World Cup finals, while two further African nations will join them after a final qualification phase.
Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe have sealed their place to partake in that final group, with two more to come – Nigeria and Botswana leading the way with three matches to play. The World Cup is set to be jointly held by India and Sri Lanka.
Additional reporting by Reuters
