Navi Mumbai, January 9: In a nail-biting, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated Mumbai Indians in the opening match of the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2026 at the D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Friday. RCB star batter Nadine De Klerk played a scintillating innings of 63 runs and smashed 18 runs in the last over to take her side over the line.
Chasing 155 runs in 20 over, RCB was reeling in the start, however, Klerk's heroics helped the team to win the opener in a tight contest. RCB managed to defeat Mumbai in the opener for the first time ever in the history of the tournament.
Nat Sciver-Brunt was asked to bowl the last over in which RCB needed 18 runs to win the game. Klerk was on strike and the first two balls were dot. The RCB fans lost all hopes of winning the game, however, Klerk scored 6,4,6,4 in the next four balls and pulled the victory from the mouth of Mumbai.
RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana won the toss and invited Mumbai Indians to bat first. Mumbai Indians managed to score 154 runs in their 20 overs with 6 wickets. Sajeevan Sajana was the highest scorer for Mumbai who scored quick 45 runs in 25 balls with 7 fours and 1 six at a strike rate of 180.
RCB had a good start with 40 runs in the first four overs without the loss of a single wicket. However, they were quickly 5 down for 65 runs in the eighth over. However, Klerk came to the rescue and took the game away from Mumbai Indians in the later stage of the game.
