Brazil’s Laura Cardoso produced a record-breaking performance to become the first player in men’s or women’s T20I history to take nine wickets in a single innings.
The seamer delivered a sensational spell against Lesotho, finishing with extraordinary figures of 9 for 4 from just three overs, the best bowling figures ever recorded in T20I cricket.
Cardoso’s achievement eclipsed the previous overall T20I record held by Sonam Yeshey, who took 8 for 7 against Myanmar in a men’s T20I in 2025.
In women’s T20Is, she also surpassed Rohmalia Rohmalia, whose 7-wicket haul against Mongolia in 2024 had stood as the benchmark.
Cardoso made an immediate impact, claiming a hat-trick in her second over. She then dismantled the batting line-up further with four wickets in her next over, racing to seven wickets in no time.
Returning later, she added two more wickets to reach an unprecedented nine, leaving Lesotho completely overwhelmed.
Earlier, Brazil had posted a formidable total of 202, built on strong contributions from Roberta Avery, who scored 48 off 35 balls, and Monnike Machado, who remained unbeaten on 69 from 41 deliveries.
Lesotho’s reply never got going, as they were bowled out for just 13 in 6.2 overs. The final wicket was taken by Marianne Artur, sealing a crushing 189-run victory for Brazil.
