Top 6 Best Women Openers in T20ls (2026 Updated Rankings)

When the ball is new and hard, they stand firm at the crease. The field is spread out.

When the ball is new and hard, they stand firm at the crease. The field is spread out. The bowlers are fresh. These seven women have made their names by doing what very few people do well: scoring runs when they are needed most. They do it in the shortest format of the game, where there’s no time to settle in, no time to wait. You have to hit or get out. And they hit. They’ve been hitting for years. Their statistics tell a story, but the numbers are only part of it. What matters is that when their teams needed runs from the top order, these women delivered. They changed games. They won matches. They did it again and again, until it became their defining characteristic. That’s why they are here.

1. Beth Mooney

Beth Mooney has scored over 3,300 runs in this format. She plays for Australia and bats in the top order. Bowlers know she’ll be at the crease; they plan for her. Yet, she still scores runs. She has a good average and scores quickly. This balance is crucial. Play too slowly, and the powerplay is wasted. Play too fast, and wickets fall. Mooney finds the middle ground and executes it perfectly.

She has anchored chases that others would have lost. When the target is big and the overs are few, someone needs to stay calm. Mooney stays calm. She rotates the strike. She finds the gaps. When the ball is there to be hit, she hits it. She has helped Australia win three World Cups in this format. That’s not luck. That’s skill demonstrated under pressure over time.

She has been named the world’s best T20 player. She received this award because she earned it. Match after match, series after series, she has scored the runs her team needed. She has scored many fifties. Not always centuries, but fifties. Fifties win T20 games. You score a fifty, and you’ve done your job. Mooney does her job.

2. Hayley Matthews

Hayley Matthews started playing for the West Indies at the age of sixteen. That’s a very young age to face international bowlers. Yet, she did it. And she’s been doing it ever since. Now she’s the team captain. She bats at the top of the order and sets the tone for the match. What she does in the first six overs often dictates what will happen later.

In her 100th T20 International match, she scored 52 runs off 38 balls. It wasn’t her fastest innings, but it came when this milestone mattered. She showed she could handle the moment. That’s what great players do. When the stakes are high, they don’t shy away.

Earlier this year in Saudi Arabia, she scored 85 runs off 47 balls. That’s scoring at a strike rate of 180. It was a magnificent batting performance. The bowlers had no answer for her that day. When Matthews bats like that, the West Indies win. When she doesn’t, they often lose. She carries this responsibility, and she’s been doing it for years. She plays crucial innings in ICC events. She scores big runs in important matches. That’s the mark of a player you can rely on.

3. Smriti Mandhana

Smriti Mandhana scored 763 runs in T20 Internationals last year. During this time, she hit eight half-centuries. This means she was getting good starts and converting them into big scores. Many batters get out after scoring twenty or thirty runs. Mandhana makes fifties. She does this regularly. That’s what makes her special.

She opens the batting with Shafali Verma. Together, they have forged some of the biggest opening partnerships in women’s cricket. When these two get going, India’s total increases rapidly. Mandhana is the anchor of that partnership. Verma plays aggressively, but Mandhana plays intelligently. She understands field placements. She waits for the bad ball. She doesn’t give her wicket away easily.

She has scored one century in this format: 112 runs. This is very rare in T20 cricket. An innings is only 120 balls long. To score a century, you have to bat for almost the entire innings and you have to score quickly. Mandhana did both. That innings shows what she can do when everything clicks. She changes the game with her ability to score quickly. She is a phenomenal run-scorer, and her statistics prove it.

Continue Reading: Top 7 Best Women Openers in ODIs (2026 Updated Rankings)

4. Tahlia McGrath

McGrath bats in the top order for Australia. She scores runs in big series. The Ashes. The World Cup. The kinds of matches people remember. She has played innings that have changed the course of matches. Not always the highest scores, but the right scores at the right time.

She is an all-rounder, which means she also bowls. But it’s her batting that has cemented her place in the team. She hits the ball hard and finds the boundaries. Australia’s top order is strong and talented. McGrath maintains her place in it because she performs. The team trusts her to deliver when needed.

Her consistent run-scoring has made her reliable. When Australia needs crucial big scores from their top order, McGrath delivers. She has done it in major series. She has done it in the Ashes T20s. She consistently contributes and plays match-winning innings in the top order.

5. Laura Wolvaardt

Wolvaardt scored 673 runs in T20 Internationals last year. Her average was nearly 40. In a format where an average of 25 is considered good, an average of 40 is exceptional. She also scored runs quickly. The combination of average and strike rate makes for a great batter, and Wolvaardt possesses both.

She scored one century and three half-centuries last year, demonstrating her consistency. She was chosen as the ICC Women’s Player of the Month in December. This award is given to the player in the best form, and Wolvaardt was in superb form. She has continued this form into the new year. South Africa relies on her to provide a solid platform, and she consistently delivers. Her high annual run tally places her among the world’s top scorers. Her match-winning innings showcase her brilliant batting form. When she plays well, South Africa has a strong chance of winning. When she fails, the team struggles. She understands this and bats accordingly.

6. Shafali Verma

Shafali Verma has scored over 2400 runs in T20 Internationals. She scores runs quickly, and her strike rate is very high. She is an aggressive batter who goes for big shots from the very first ball. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. But when it does work, India gets a fantastic start.

She opens the batting, and her job is simple: to score runs quickly in the powerplay. She does this better than most players. She has played many match-winning innings. India’s success in this format often begins with Verma’s bat. When she plays well, the team plays well. Her aggressive batting gives India a flying start. She often changes the momentum of the game with her impactful innings. She is a dynamic opening batter who has had a brilliant career. She is a fantastic player and a game-changer.