GABORONE, Botswana: Brazil’s right-arm fast bowler Laura Cardoso delivered a spell for the ages in the 14th match of the Kalahari Women’s T20I against Lesotho, held on Thursday at the Botswana Cricket Association Oval 2.
Playing her 48th T20I for the South American side, Cardoso produced breathtaking figures of nine wickets for just four runs from her three overs, rewriting the record books in the process.
𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐓𝟐𝟎𝐈 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 👀
Brazil’s Laura Cardoso delivered the best-ever T20I returns (9/4), including 5 wickets in 5 balls, to bowl out Lesotho for 13 🔥 🤯#CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/SXuZVhYfIZ
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) April 9, 2026
Historic feat across men’s and women’s T20Is
With this extraordinary performance, Cardoso now holds the record for the best bowling figures in any T20I match – whether men’s or women’s. She surpassed the previous benchmark set by Bhutan’s Sonam Yeshey, who took eight wickets for seven runs against Myanmar in a men’s T20I in 2025.
In the context of women’s T20Is, Cardoso went past Indonesia’s Rohmalia, who had recorded figures of 7/0 against Mongolia in 2024.
Hat-trick and four-wicket over
Cardoso launched her record-shattering spell in the second over of Lesotho’s innings, immediately making her mark with a hat-trick. She then followed up with an astonishing four wickets in her second over, taking her match tally to seven.
The right-arm seamer completed her historic haul by claiming two more wickets in her third over, finishing with an unprecedented nine scalps.
Cardoso took the first nine wickets in Lesotho’s innings, but the last batter fell before she had bowled her final overhttps://t.co/Kqq3QBoAIQ
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) April 9, 2026
Brazil’s dominant victory
Cardoso’s sensational bowling effort guided Brazil to a massive 189-run victory over Lesotho. Earlier in the match, Brazil had posted an imposing total of 202 runs for the loss of eight wickets in their 20 overs.
Wicketkeeper-batter Monnike Machado anchored the innings with an unbeaten half-century, scoring 69 off just 41 deliveries. She received strong support from middle-order batter Roberta Moretti Avery, who contributed a 35-ball 48, including five boundaries.
The pair shared a match-defining 97-run partnership for the fifth wicket, which laid the foundation for Brazil’s commanding total.
