In a spellbinding display of pace and precision, 21-year-old Brazilian all-rounder Laura Cardoso became the first player in men’s or women’s T20I history to claim nine wickets in a single innings, dismantling Lesotho for a paltry 13 in the Kalahari Women’s T20I Tournament 2026.
Her extraordinary figures of 9/4 from just three overs at Botswana Cricket Association Oval 2 in Gaborone on April 9 not only eclipsed all prior benchmarks but propelled unbeaten Brazil, led by skipper Carolina Nascimento, to a mammoth 189-run victory, cementing their perch atop the points table with 10 points from five straight wins.
Cardoso’s sensational haul rewrote the record books on Thursday. She delivered a spell against Lesotho that began in the second over with a hat-trick, followed by four more wickets in the fourth over to surge to seven. Two additional strikes in the sixth over pushed her to an unprecedented nine, with Marianne Artur mopping up the final wicket as Lesotho crumbled to 13 all out in 6.2 overs. Remarkably, Cardoso snared her first five wickets in five consecutive deliveries across two overs, underscoring her lethal control under pressure.
Earlier, Brazil had laid the foundation with a commanding 202/8 in 20 overs, fueled by wicket-keeper batter Monnike Machado’s unbeaten 69 off 41 balls, Roberta Avery’s brisk 48 off 35, and Laura Agatha’s supportive 26 off 24. The innings swelled with 32 extras, setting an imposing target on a batsman-friendly Gaborone pitch. Maneo Nyabela (4-0-27-1), Lindiwe Polaki (4-0-43-2), Boitumelo Tlali (4-0-40-1), and Ret’sepile Limema (4-0-40-1) were the top performers with the ball for Lesotho.
This wasn’t just a collapse; it was a masterclass in dominance. Cardoso’s 9/4 supplants Bhutan’s Sonam Yeshey’s previous T20I best of 8/7 against Myanmar in a men’s match last year, and in women’s cricket, it obliterates Indonesia’s Rohmalia Rohmalia’s 7/0 versus Mongolia in 2024. For a 21-year-old from Brazil, a nation steadily rising in global women’s cricket, this feat signals the depth of talent emerging beyond traditional powerhouses.
Laura Cardoso’s raw pace and accuracy mark her as a genuine star. Brazil’s flawless campaign in the April 6-11 tournament underscores their credentials as frontrunners, blending explosive batting with suffocating bowling. Cardoso, rightfully named Player of the Match, has ignited dreams for South American cricket’s global push. Watch her closely as Brazil eyes the Kalahari Women’s Tournament title.
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