Laura Cardoso (photo from @lalavillass/Instagram) NEW DELHI: Brazil’s Laura Cardoso, 21, made history with an extraordinary bowling performance to become the first player in either men’s or women’s T20I cricket to take nine wickets in an innings. Playing against Lesotho, she produced a stunning spell of 9/4 in just three overs, completely dismantling the opposition and setting a new world record in the format.
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Historic bowling performance
Cardosa’s feat broke long-standing records in T20I cricket. She went past Sonam Yeshey who took eight wickets in Men’s T20Is and also bettered Rohmalia Rohmalia’s seven-wicket haul in Women’s T20Is. Her spell began in dramatic fashion as she took a hat-trick early in the innings and immediately put Lesotho under pressure. She then struck again in her next over, grabbing four more wickets to take her tally to seven. Maintaining her rhythm and control, Cardoso added two more wickets in her final over to take a whopping nine wickets, a feat never before seen in T20I cricket.
All-round dominance of Brazil
Before Cardoso’s heroics, Brazil had already set the tone with the bat as they posted a strong total of 202 runs. Key contributions came from Roberta Avery, who scored 48 points, and Monnika Machado, who remained unbeaten with 69.Their efforts gave Brazil the lead in the second innings.However, it was Cardosa’s bowling that completely sealed the match. The Lesotho batting line-up had no answer to her pace and accuracy, collapsing for just 13 runs in 6.2 overs. Marianne Artur took the last wicket to confirm a massive 189 run victory.
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Cardoso’s once-in-a-lifetime spell not only ensured a dominant victory for Brazil but also etched their name permanently in cricket history.
