Dubai: Brazil fast bowler Laura Cardoso entered her name in the record books, becoming the first player in either men’s or women’s T20I cricket to pick up nine wickets in a single innings.
Cardoso delivered the sensational spell against Lesotho, finishing with extraordinary figures of 9/4 from her three overs, the best-ever bowling figures in T20I cricket, at the BCA Kalahari Women’s T20I Tournament at Botswana Cricket Association Oval 2 in Gaborone.
The previous record was held by Bhutan’s Sonam Yeshey, who claimed eight wickets for just seven runs against Myanmar in a men’s T20I in 2025.
In women’s T20Is, Cardoso surpassed Indonesia’s Rohmalia Rohmalia’s figures of 7/0 against Mongolia in 2024, according to the ICC.
Earlier in the match on Thursday, Brazil posted a commanding total of 202, powered by impressive knocks from Roberta Avery (48 off 35) and Monnike Machado (69 not out off 41).
Cardoso’s incredible spell began in the second over when the pacer picked up a hat-trick. She followed it up with four more wickets in the fourth over to take her tally to seven.
Two additional wickets in the sixth over saw her reach an unprecedented nine wickets in an innings.
The final wicket was claimed by Marianne Artur, as Lesotho were bowled out for just 13 in 6.2 overs, handing Brazil a massive 189-run victory.
