Brazil’s Laura Cardoso produced a historic spell against Lesotho to register the best bowling figures ever recorded in T20I cricket, becoming the first player in men’s or women’s internationals to take nine wickets in a single innings.
The Brazilian pacer returned sensational figures of 9/4 in three overs, rewriting the record books in extraordinary fashion. Her effort is now the best bowling performance in T20I history, going past the previous overall record of 8/7, set by Bhutan’s Sonam Yeshey against Myanmar in a men’s T20I in 2025.
In women’s T20Is, Cardoso also eclipsed the earlier best of 7/0, recorded by Indonesia’s Rohmalia Rohmalia against Mongolia in 2024.
Cardoso’s unforgettable spell began early in the innings when she struck with a hat-trick in the second over. She then tore further through Lesotho’s batting lineup in her next over, claiming four more wickets to race to seven. Two additional scalps in the sixth over took her tally to an unprecedented nine wickets.
Lesotho had no answer to Brazil’s relentless bowling and were bowled out for just 13 in 6.2 overs, sealing a crushing 189-run win for Brazil.
Earlier, Brazil had posted a commanding total of 202, built around important contributions from Roberta Avery, who made 48 off 35 balls, and Monnike Machado, who remained unbeaten on 69 off 41.
But the match will be remembered almost entirely for Cardoso’s astonishing spell, which now stands alone as the greatest bowling performance in T20I history. In a format built for batters, the Brazilian quick delivered a once-in-a-generation display that may take some beating.
