Gaborone, April 9 Brazil’s Laura Cardoso produced a historic bowling performance to rewrite the record books in T20I cricket, registering the best figures ever in the format during the BCA Kalahari Women's T20I Tournament 2026. The Brazilian skipper returned extraordinary figures of 9/4 in just three overs against Lesotho, becoming the first player across men’s and women’s T20Is to claim nine wickets in a single innings.
The previous record in men’s T20Is belonged to Sonam Yeshey, who had taken 8/7 against Myanmar in 2025, while in the women’s game, Rohmalia Rohmalia held the benchmark with 7/0 against Mongolia in 2024. Cardoso surpassed both with a spell that will be remembered as one of the most dominant in the format’s history.
Her remarkable burst began early, with a hat-trick in her second over, setting the tone for Brazil’s dominance. She followed it up with four more wickets in her next over to race to seven scalps, before adding two more in her third over to complete an unprecedented nine-wicket haul. Lesotho’s innings folded for just 13 in 6.2 overs, with Marianne Artur claiming the only wicket not taken by Cardoso, sealing a crushing 189-run victory for Brazil.
Earlier, Brazil had posted an imposing total of 202, built on solid contributions from Roberta Avery, who made 48 off 35 balls, and Monnike Machado, who remained unbeaten on 69 off 41 deliveries.
Brazil have been in dominant form throughout the tournament. In a previous fixture, they outclassed Zambia Women by 174 runs in a comprehensive all-round display. Cardoso led from the front with a quickfire half-century, while Laura Agatha struck 62 as the pair stitched together a crucial 105-run partnership to guide the side to 200/5.
Zambia’s response in that match faltered early and never recovered, as they were bowled out for just 26 in 15.1 overs. Maria Ribeiro starred with a five-wicket haul, while Cardoso contributed with three wickets to dismantle the batting lineup.
With commanding performances in both batting and bowling departments, Brazil have emerged as a formidable force in the tournament.
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