MUMBAI – In a final that will be remembered for years, South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt rewrote the Women’s ODI World Cup record books. Her superb 101 against India at DY Patil Stadium took her tally to 571 runs for the tournament, passing Alyssa Healy’s 509 from 2022.
It was a mark of class across nine games. The night ended in heartbreak for her team, though. India won by 52 runs to lift their first World Cup, leaving South Africa to wonder what more they could have done.
The atmosphere at DY Patil was electric, with blue shirts filling the stands. India, co-hosts and buoyed by a strong run to the final, chose to bat on a true surface that offered bounce and little spin. Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma launched with a rapid 104-run opening stand. Verma struck a career-best 87, full of clean drives and a huge six off Nadine de Klerk. Mandhana added a smooth 45 that steadied the start.
South Africa fought back through Ayabonga Khaka. Laura Wolvaardt took three for 58, including Verma caught in the deep, to slow India’s charge. Nonkululeko Mlaba removed Mandhana, and Chloe Tryon and de Klerk chipped in with wickets to keep the total within range.
Richa Ghosh powered 34 from 24 balls, including a sliced six over extra cover, to push India to 298 for seven. It was the second-highest score in a Women’s World Cup final. Khaka’s changes of pace and control were key, and they kept South Africa interested.
The Pursuit: Laura Wolvaardt’s Clinic Under Pressure
Laura Wolvaardt walked out with Tazmin Brits, chasing 299, which would have been a record in a World Cup final. Calm and organized, she struck an early cover drive off Deepti Sharma to set the tone. South Africa reached 52 for one after 10 overs, with Brits run out for 23.
Tension followed. Anneke Bosch fell first ball, lbw to Shafali’s medium pace. Wolvaardt and Sune Luus steadied the innings with a stand of 60, even as a brief shower paused play and DLS came into view. Wolvaardt used neat footwork to work the spinners, mixing late cuts, sweeps, and crisp off drives.
By the drinks break, South Africa were behind the rate, but Wolvaardt reached a fifth fifty of the tournament. Her single to pass 510 moved her beyond Healy’s aggregate, and the crowd reacted to the landmark. Marizanne Kapp added quick runs, yet Deepti turned the contest.
Her five for 39, the best figures in a Women’s World Cup final, broke the innings. Luus holed out, Kapp edged to slip, and the turning point came when Wolvaardt, on 101 from 98 balls with 10 fours and two sixes, picked out Amanjot Kaur after a miscued sweep.
South Africa were 220 for seven and fading. The tail could not resist for long. They were all out for 246 in 45.3 overs. Shafali backed up Deepti with two for 36, and India’s fielding stayed sharp throughout.
Wolvaardt’s hundred carried both pride and pain. She became the first captain to score a century in a Women’s World Cup final. She matched Mithali Raj’s mark of 14 scores of fifty or more and crossed 5,000 ODI runs, joining an elite list.
Her semi-final 169 off 143 balls against England, a record for a South African in World Cups, had set up a 125-run win after posting 319 for seven. On the biggest night, old problems for South Africa surfaced under pressure.
From School Fields to Global Standout: The Rise of Laura Wolvaardt
Born on 26 April 1999 in Cape Town, Laura Wolvaardt started with boys’ teams at five, long before she found girls’ cricket at 11. Selection for Western Province Under-19 came at 13, and she finished as top scorer at the 2013 CSA Under-19 Girls Week. Her domestic debut followed that October against Boland.
She played her first ODI at 16, against England in February 2016, starting with a gritty five from 24 balls. A half-century in the next match arrived with a 114-run stand with Trisha Chetty. Four months later, she posted a maiden ODI hundred with 105 against Ireland.
By 2025, her numbers told the story. She had become South Africa’s leading women’s ODI centurion with 10 hundreds and passed 5,000 runs at an average in the high 30s. Across formats, she made a first Test hundred against India in July 2024, joining a small group with hundreds in all three formats.
She took on the captaincy in 2024 and led South Africa to the T20 World Cup final on home soil that year. On the circuit, she has starred in the WPL with Gujarat Giants, the WBBL with Adelaide Strikers, and The Hundred with Southern Brave, where her cover drive has become a calling card.
Shortlisted for ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer in 2024, she pairs calm leadership with assertive strokeplay. She paused medical studies to focus on cricket, a call that looked wise after a 2025 campaign of 571 runs at an 81.57 strike rate, including the semi-final blitz with 20 fours and four sixes. Away from the crease, she speaks up for fairness and opportunity in women’s sport, inspiring the next wave in South Africa.
As confetti fell on Harmanpreet Kaur’s side, with Shafali named Player of the Match and Deepti the tournament’s standout, Wolvaardt faced the cameras with grace. She said it hurt, yet she was proud of the group and the fight. Records count for something, trophies count for more.
Her 571 in a single Women’s World Cup dwarfs Enid Bakewell’s 264 from 1973. It also places her alongside greats like Debbie Hockley for career milestones. In a format pushing new standards, Wolvaardt remains a model of technique and nerve.
The pain of this defeat will fuel what comes next. For now, the game salutes Laura Wolvaardt, a record breaker and leader who keeps raising the bar. South Africa will look to its next chapter, and it already feels set to be special.
