7 All Out! Ivory Coast collapse against Nigeria for lowest score in Men’s T20I cricket history (Photo Source: ICC)
African countries Nigeria and Ivory Coast took on each other in the Men’s T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Africa Qualifier Group C game, on Sunday, November 24, in Lagos. Ivory Coast recorded the lowest total in a men’s T20I chasing the 272-run target set by Nigeria.
Nigeria posted a humongous target on the back of Selim Salau’s 112 of just 53 balls. Sulaimon Runsewe and Isaac Okpe scored 50 and 63* runs, respectively. But it was Left-arm spinner Isaac Danladi and left-arm quick Prosper Useni who did the job for Nigeria with the ball. Both the bowlers picked three wickets each as Peter Aho and Sylvester Okpe pitched in with two and one wickets, with one batter getting run out.
Ivory Coast’s innings was dissolved in just 7.3 overs with a mere seven runs on the board. The batters’ scores read: 4, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0* and 0. The highest scorer for Ivory Coast was Opener Ouattara Mohamed, who scored just four runs off six balls.
Also Read: Zimbabwe smash 344 against Gambia to record highest T20I total
This was also the first instance of a team totalling less than 10 runs in a men’s T20I. Before this game, the lowest total record was 10-all out registered in games such as Mongolia versus Singapore in September this year, and Isle of Man versus Spain, last year.
Nigeria recorded third-highest win margin against an opponent in T20Is
As a result of their emphatic victory, Nigeria also entered the top-3 spot for winning a T20I by the highest margin with a 264-run win. The top spot was earned by Zimbabwe with 290 runs victory against Gambia last month. Nepal’s 273-run win over Mongolia at the Asian Games in Hangzhou City, China, in September 2023, is at the second spot. With this win Nigeria are top of the six-team table, while Ivory Coast are bottom.