The Royal Challengers Women defeat defending champions Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener of the 2026 Women’s Premier League after a thrilling contest between the two former champions.
It was Match 1 of WPL 2026, played in the Dr. DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. It was the Royal Challengers that won the toss and decided to bowl first on a somewhat sticky pitch.
RCB-W Beats MI-W in Match 1 WPL 2026
Mumbai got off to a slow start to their inning, making only 15 runs in the first four overs. While wicketkeeper/batter Gunalan Kamalini kept the scorecard ticking, the other opener, that being all-rounder Amelia Kerr, was struggling on the pitch.
That came to a head when, at the end of the fifth over, Kerr became the first dismissal of WPL 2026, being dismissed by Lauren Bell for four off 15.
The Mumbai Indians, having a stacked batting order, saw Nat Sciver-Brunt walk in at number 3. However, the English all-rounder was not long for the crease. Soon after the end of the powerplay, Sciver-Brunt was dismissed by Nadine de Klerk for four off three.
De Klerk, for her part, was going to go on a hot streak with the ball later in the inning. For now, the Indians’ scorecard chugged along at a menial pace. The team crossed the 60-run mark in the 10th over. And by the end of that over, Kamalini was dismissed for 32 runs off 28 deliveries, being bowled by Shreyanka Patil.
An over later, captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who too was making slow yet steady runs, got out, being dismissed by de Klerk.
At 67/4 in the 11th over, the defending champions were struggling mightily at this point. But their saviours were to come in the form of Nicola Carey and Sajeevan Sajana. In the next eight overs, the two made 28 runs together. Sajana made 45 off 25 at a strike rate of 180 before getting out at the start of the final over. On the other end, Carey made 40 off 29 and too would get out in the last over.
Speaking of the last over of the Indians’ innings, Nadine de Klerk bowled it, conceded only five runs, and took two massive wickets. Due to that splendid over, the Mumbai-based team was restricted to 154/6 at the end of their 20 overs.
RCB’s chase got off to a solid start; opener Grace Harris and skipper Smriti Mandhana made 40 runs in just three overs. But as pacer Shabnim Ismail scored four dot balls in a row in the fourth over, Mandhana, looking to pick the pace of runs back up, looked to hit a boundary and got caught at mid-on instead for 18 off 13.
At this point, Bengaluru’s chase started to fall apart. In the fifth over, Harris fell victim to Nat Sciver-Brunt for 25 off 12. RCB-W’s powerplay at a respectable score of 57/2. But a Jenga tower of falling wickets was yet to come.
In the seventh, Dayalan Hemalatha was caught before the wickets by Amanjot Kaur; on the eighth day, wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh was dismissed, and later in the over, Radha Yadav departed. At the end of the eighth over, Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s score was 65/5.
But then, a rebuilding effort by the all-rounder duo of Nadine de Klerk and Arundhati Reddy. Over the next nine overs, not only did the two take RCB past the 100-run mark, but they also formed a 50+ run partnership. However, the team was still not on pace to chase the target down by the time Reddy got out in the 17th for 20 off 25.
At 117/6, the Royal Challengers needed 38 runs in 23 deliveries. At this point, de Klerk, who was batting at 32 off 27, picked the pace up. But not before Shreyanka Patil was dismissed for a single run at the end of the 17th.
The match was coming down to the wire after 18 overs. RCB needed 29 runs in the last two overs. 11 of these runs were made in the penultimate over, with a target of 18 runs remaining for the last over, which was to be bowled by Sciver-Brunt.
The first ball faced by de Klerk was a dot, and so was the second; 18 were required off four. The third ball was smacked over long-off for six. The fourth ball was a boundary. This also brought up a half-century for Nadine de Klerk.
The fifth ball was another six, this time over extra cover. With two runs required off the last ball, the Mumbai Indians pulled most of their fielders inside the 30-yard circle. But that was not enough, as the last ball of the match was hit for a four. RCB-W won the game by three wickets with no balls remaining.
For a crucial spell of 4/26 and a match-winning inning of 63 not out off 44, Nadine de Klerk was named the Player of the Match.
With this win, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru have shot up to the top of the points table, starting their season off in scintillating fashion.
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