Shafali Verma Passes Wolvaardt for Most Women's T20I Runs in a Calendar Year

India's opener reached 863 runs for 2026 during the Asian Games final against Sri Lanka, overtaking Laura Wolvaardt's 824.

India opener Shafali Verma became the leading run-scorer in a single calendar year in women's T20 internationals, going past South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt. The mark fell during India's Asian Games gold-medal match against Sri Lanka at Korogi Sports Park on Tuesday.

Batting at the top of the order, Shafali made 48 from 29 deliveries, clearing the rope three times and hitting three fours at a strike rate of 165.52. That knock lifted her 2026 output to 863 runs, ahead of Wolvaardt's 824. Across 24 T20Is this year, Shafali averages 39.22 with a strike rate of 162.83, posting one century and seven fifties, with a top score of 100 not out. Wolvaardt has also played 24 matches in 2026, averaging 43.36 at a strike rate of 138.72 with two hundreds, four fifties and a best of 126 not out.

The record caps a strong stretch of knockout performances for Shafali dating to the 2025 Women's World Cup final, where she made 87 against South Africa. Her five most recent T20I innings are 64 off 40 against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup semifinal, 68 off 39 in the Asia Cup final versus Sri Lanka, an unbeaten 40 off 15 against Japan in the Asian Games quarterfinal, 100 not out off 49 against Bangladesh in the semifinal, and the 48 in the final. Those six innings have produced 407 runs at an average of 101.75.

The same match also saw Shafali and Smriti Mandhana strengthen their standing as the most productive batting pair in women's T20I history. Their opening stand of 99 pushed their combined total past 4,000 to 4,080 runs across 107 matches at an average of 39.23, featuring six century partnerships and 26 fifty-plus stands. The UAE duo of Esha Oza and Theertha Satish sit next with 2,949, followed by Australia's Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney on 2,720.