Nadine de Klerk Leads RCB to Victory Over MI in WPL 2026 Opener

Navi Mumbai:

The WPL (Women’s Premier League) 2026 season kicked off with defending champions Mumbai Indians women taking on Royal Challengers Bengaluru women. The two sides took on each other at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai on January 9. 

The clash began with Mumbai coming in to bat first after losing the toss. The side got off to a subpar start to the game as openers Amelia Kerr and G Kamalini scored 4 and 32 runs, respectively. Harmanpreet Kaur added 20 runs on the board alongside Nicola Carey and Sajeevan Sajana, who scored 40 and 45 runs, respectively. 

In the first innings, Mumbai Indians posted a total of 154 runs in the first innings of the game. As for RCB, Nadine de Klerk was the highest wicket-taker with four wickets to her name. Lauren Bell and Shreyanka Patil took one wicket each as well. 

Nadine de Klerk’s masterclass helped RCB register a win

The run chase began on a positive note for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The side opened its innings with Smriti Mandhana and Grace Harris scoring 18 and 25 runs, respectively. However, disaster struck as MI kept taking crucial wickets and keeping the game close. 

Dayalan Hemalatha and Richa Ghosh departed on 7 and 6 runs, respectively, with Radha Yadav scoring just one run as well. However, it was the knock of Nadine de Klerk that propelled RCB to a stellar win, defeating Mumbai Indians women by three wickets.

The star batter went unbeaten on a score of 63 runs in 44 deliveries, helping her side get off to the perfect start to their WPL 2026 campaign. As for MI, Nicola Carey and Amelia Kerr were the highest wicket takers with two wickets each to their names. Nat Sciver-Brunt, Shabnim Ismail, and Amanjot Kaur took one wicket as well. 

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