Laura Cardoso has made into the cricket history books. The-21-year-old has etched her name into 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.
The right-handed medium fast bowler finished with extraordinary figures of 9/4 from her three overs, the best-ever bowling figures in T20I cricket in Brazil’s match against Lesotho,.
The previous best 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.
In 2021, aged 16, she became the first cricketer, male or female, to take a hat-trick for Brazil in a Twenty20 International (T20I), her first year with the Brazilian team.
Cardosa’s latest record feat came during the ongoing Kalahari Women’s Tournament in Botswana.
Earlier in the match, Brazil posted a commanding total of 202, powered by impressive knocks from Roberta Avery (48 off 35) and Monnike Machado (69* 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.
