Brazil allrounder Laura Cardoso etched her name into the record books by becoming the first cricketer, in both men’s and women’s T20Is, to claim nine wickets in a single innings. The 21-year-old achieved the landmark during Brazil’s clash against Lesotho in the Kalahari Women’s T20I Tournament in Botswana, returning extraordinary figures of 3-2-4-9, which included a hat-trick.
In doing so, Cardoso surpassed the previous record for best bowling figures in T20Is, held by Bhutan’s Sonam Yeshey, who recorded 8 for 7 against Myanmar last year. In women’s cricket, the earlier benchmark belonged to Indonesia’s Rohmalia Rohmalia, who took 7 for 0 against Mongolia in April 2024.
Her remarkable spell played a decisive role in Brazil’s emphatic 189-run victory over Lesotho, marking their third-largest win in T20Is.
Earlier in the match, Brazil had posted a formidable 202 for 8 after batting first. Cardoso, however, had a modest outing with the bat, scoring just four runs before being dismissed off her second delivery.
Lesotho’s chase never gained momentum. Cardoso entered the attack in the second over and made an immediate impact, completing a hat-trick with wickets from her fourth, fifth, and sixth deliveries. The pressure only intensified as she returned in the fourth over to pick up four more wickets within five balls, before adding two further dismissals in the sixth over to complete a historic spell.
More Read
At one stage, Cardoso appeared on course to take all ten wickets, with Lesotho struggling at 13 for 9. However, the final wicket went to Marianne Artur, who claimed it in the following over, with the batter stumped by the wicketkeeper.
Lesotho were eventually bowled out for 13, registering the seventh-lowest total in women’s T20I history.
With this dominant performance, Brazil have strengthened their position at the top of the points table, remaining the only unbeaten side in the tournament after winning all five of their group-stage matches.
