9 wickets in 3 overs, all out for 13: Kohli fan Laura Cardoso makes T20I bowling record

9 wickets by a single bowler in a T20 match. All out for just 13 runs. Incredible numbers. Yes, this came in a game between Associate nations. Brazil, known across the world for its five World Cup titles in football, is also playing cricket. How many of you knew that? Here, we are talking about their women’s team, and one extraordinary performance that has stunned the sport.

On Friday, Brazil’s Laura Cardoso delivered a spell for the ages against Lesotho in a Women’s T20 International during an international tournament in Gaborone, Botswana. Her figures read an almost unreal 9 wickets for just 4 runs in 3 overs, including 2 maidens. It is now the best bowling performance ever recorded in T20 International history, across both men’s and women’s cricket.

Cardoso did not just dominate, she dismantled the entire batting lineup. She began her spell with a hat trick, immediately putting Lesotho on the back foot. What followed was relentless. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals as she ran through the lineup with control and precision. By the time she finished, nine of the ten batters had been dismissed by her alone.

Laura Cardoso has a huge admiration for Virat Kohli. Even in Brazil, where cricket is still developing, Kohli’s passion and mindset have inspired her, and she even got the chance to meet him in Mumbai a few years ago, a moment she still cherishes.

Lesotho, a Southern African nation ranked 82nd in women’s cricket, had no answers. Chasing a big total of 202, they were bundled out for just 13 runs, handing Brazil a massive 189 run win. It was one of the most one sided matches in T20I history.

Before this, the best figures in T20Is were 8 for 7 in men’s cricket by Bhutan’s Sonam Yeshey, and 7 for 0 in women’s cricket by Indonesia’s Rohmalia. Cardoso has now gone a step further, becoming the first player ever to take nine wickets in a T20 international innings.

Beyond the numbers, this moment also shines a light on the growth of cricket in newer regions. Brazil has been one of the pioneers in developing women’s cricket, even going ahead of many established nations by offering central contracts to their women players before their men’s team. They are currently ranked 33rd in the world, while Lesotho sit at 82, both part of the ICC’s Associate Member group.

For Laura Cardoso, this was not just a great day at the office. It was a record that may stand for a long time. In a format where bowlers often struggle to contain batters, she produced something almost unthinkable.