T20 Cricket in its nascent stages was thought about as a format that is harsh on the bowlers. One would have expected it to be a batsman-dominated format given the license for the batters to go after from ball 1 and the playing conditions as such. But over the evolution of the format, bowlers have found a great amount of success which has made the contest more interesting and the prospect of a close finish is always high.
As the game has progressed, bowlers with great skills have become more and more successful in the shortest format of the game, especially the spinners. As a result, the low-scoring thrillers are as good as a possibility as the high-scoring ones in the short history of this grand extravaganza known as T20 cricket.
Since its inception, there have been many sub-100 totals and even sub-50 totals posted by teams in the T20 international format.
This article will pile the stats on the top 10 lowest totals in T20 Internationals.
Lowest Team Total in T20Is
| Team | Score | Against | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ivory Coast | 7 (7.3) | Nigeria | Abuja | 24 Nov 2024 |
| Mongolia | 10 (10.0) | Singapore | Bangi | 5 Sep 2024 |
| Isle of Man | 10 (8.4) | Spain | Cartagena | 26 Feb 2023 |
| Mongolia | 12 (8.2) | Japan | Sano | 8 May 2024 |
| Mongolia | 17 (14.2) | Hong Kong | Kuala Lumpur | 31 Aug 2024 |
| Mali | 18 (12.5) | Tanzania | Dar-es-Salaam | 21 Sep 2024 |
| Ivory Coast | 21 (10.4) | Sierra Leone | Abuja | 23 Nov 2024 |
| Turkey | 21 (8.3) | Czech Republic | Ilfov County | 30 Aug 2019 |
| China | 23 (11.2) | Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | 26 Jul 2023 |
| Mali | 24 (10.3) | Ghana | Dar-es-Salaam | 26 Sep 2024 |
Key highlights from the above stats
Turkey, an affiliate team, has made it to the list 3 different times, and it was against different teams each time. The interesting thing to note is that all these 3 results occurred in 3 consecutive days at the same venue.
The Netherlands is on the list twice, and both the times it was against the former World T20 Champions Sri Lanka coming in 2 different T20 World Cups 7 years apart.
The 2-time World Champions, West Indies, is the only full member Test-playing nation included here, and they were bowled out for just 45 against England in 2019.
The other affiliate nations to have made the top-10 are Lesotho, Panama, Cameroon, Bostwana. These 4 cricket playing teams have been bowled out for less than 50 on at least one occasion.
Bonus: If you want to know the lowest ODI scores of every ODI team, check here.
Let us also see the lowest scores posted by teams that have played in the ICC T20 World Cups over the years and are in the top-20 in the ICC World Rankings in this format.
Lowest Totals by Top Teams in T20Is
| Team | Total | Against | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honk Kong | 38 (10.4) | Pakistan | Sharjah | 2 Sep 2022 |
| Netherlands | 39 (10.3) | Sri Lanka | Chattogram | 24 Mar 2014 |
| Netherlands | 44 (10.0) | Sri Lanka | Sharjah | 22 Oct 2021 |
| West Indies | 45 (11.5) | England | Basseterre | 8 Mar 2019 |
| Oman | 47 (13.2) | England | North Sound | 13 Jun 2024 |
| Nepal | 53 (14.3) | Ireland | Belfast | 13 Jul 2015 |
| West Indies | 55 (14.2) | England | Dubai | 23 Oct 2021 |
| Afghanistan | 56 (11.5) | South Africa | Tarouba | 26 Jun 2024 |
| Zimbabwe | 57 (12.4) | Pakistan | Bulawayo | 3 Dec 2024 |
| New Zealand | 60 (15.3) | Sri Lanka | Chattogram | 31 Mar 2014 |
Key highlights from the above stats
The Kenyan team was part of the inaugural T20 World Cup held in 2007 but are outside of the top-20 rankings. They were once bowled out for 56 at Sharjah against Afghanistan in 2013, but with the virtue of the rankings, they didn’t make a list.
Honk Kong was placed at the No.20 the position in ICC Men’s T20I rankings, when dismissed for 38 in a Asia Cup match in 2022 by Pakistan.
New Zealand and The Netherlands made the list twice while the 2-time champions West Indies made it a record 3 times, and 2 of those came against England.
Bangladesh bowled out two of the giants of cricket- Australia and New Zealand(62 and 60 respectively) in almost quick succession at Mirpur last year.
Four of the top-10 lowest totals posted here have come in the ICC World T20. You can find out the top ten lowest scores recorded in the T20 World Cup here.
