Laura Agatha’s Stunning Century Guided Brazil to Commanding Victory Over Mexico in the Opening Game of the South American Women’s Championship.
The opening game of the South American Women’s Championship was played between Brazil and Mexico at Pocos De Caldas. Mexico elected to field first, with eight players from the side making their debut for Mexico.
Lindsay Boas and Laura Agatha opened the innings for Brazil, getting them off to an ideal start, crossing the 100-run mark in the first ten overs without losing a wicket. However, a run-out from Anna Septien in the tenth over dismissed Lindsay Boas for 41. Boas played the supporting role in the 113-run opening stand alongside Agatha.
Roberta Avery then joined Laura Agatha at the crease, and the duo stitched together a record-breaking, unbeaten 160-run partnership for the second wicket, which is the sixth highest in T20I cricket for the second wicket.
Laura Agatha went on to smash a remarkable century, scoring an unbeaten 144 off 71 balls. Her innings included 11 boundaries and as many sixes, making her the first Brazil batter to score a century in T20I cricket. This knock added to her already impressive record, as she now holds three of the top four highest individual scores in Brazil’s cricketing history – 144* vs Mexico (2024), 93* vs Argentina (2023), and 71 vs Peru (2022).
Agatha’s century was well supported by Roberta Avery, who scored an unbeaten 47 off 32 balls. Brazil’s dominant batting performance resulted in their highest-ever total in T20Is, as they posted 273, surpassing their previous best of 235 against Peru in 2022.
Mexico’s bowling struggled, with no bowler taking a wicket, as their only breakthrough came via a run-out.
Chasing a daunting target of 274, Mexico’s innings faltered from the start. Their opener was run out for a duck in the second over following a run-out. In the same over, Carlos Nascimento struck twice, dismissing skipper Tania Salcedo by knocking over her stumps and then dismissing Anna Septien three balls later in the same manner. Mexico was in deep trouble, having lost their top order within the first two overs with just 15 runs on the board.
Maria Ribeiro added to Mexico’s woes by taking two wickets in the third over. Gabriela Morales was bowled for a duck, and Diana Hernandez, who came in at no. 6, was trapped lbw for a second-ball duck. Nascimento returned for the fourth over, claiming her third wicket by dismissing Marlin Ortin with the first ball. With Mexico reeling at 17 for 6, Nascimento emerged as the top bowler for Brazil.
Monica Mahedano became the sixth player to be dismissed, bowled off the first ball of Laura Cardoso’s over in the fifth. Eventually, Mexico was bowled out for just 39, completely outclassed by Brazil in both departments.
Brazil’s victory by 234 runs marks their largest-ever win in terms of runs margin, capping off a dominant performance in the opening game of the championship.