Brazil allrounder Laura Cardoso became the first player – in men’s or women’s cricket – to take a nine-wicket haul in a T20I innings. She accomplished the feat against Lesotho, during the Kalahari Women’s T20I Tournament, in Botswana.
Cardoso broke the record for the best figures in a T20I innings, which previously belonged to Bhutan’s male left-arm spinner, Sonam Yeshey, who had figures of 8 for 7 against Myanmar last year. Among women, the record was formerly held by Indonesia offspinner Rohmalia Rohmalia, when she took 7 for 0 against Mongolia in April 2024.
Cardoso’s stunning figures helped Brazil thrash Lesotho by 189 runs, their third-biggest victory in T20Is.
Batting first, Brazil had blazed away to 202 for 8. During their innings, Cardoso would not have expected what awaited her in Brazil’s bowling defense – she was out off her second ball for just four runs.
In response, Lesotho never looked likely to chase the target. Cardoso started in the second over of their innings, and secured a hat-trick with wickets off her fourth, fifth, and sixth deliveries. It was only downhill from there for Lesotho: Cardoso continued in the fourth over to claim four more wickets in the space of five balls, then two more wickets in the sixth over. She ended with figures of 3-2-4-9.
She looked on track to become the first player in the history of T20I cricket to scalp all the wickets in an innings, with Lesotho reeling at 13 for 9. However, Marianne Artur – bowling the next over, and her first in the contest – had the last batter out stumped by the wicketkeeper.
Lesotho were bundled for just 13, the seventh-lowest total in women’s T20Is.
Brazil now sit on top of the points table, having won all five of their group stage matches in the tournament so far to be its only unbeaten team.
