Nadine de Klerk delivered a masterful all-round performance, snatching a last-ball, three-wicket win for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Mumbai Indians in the WPL 2026 opener. She smashed 18 runs off the final four balls, turning what looked like a sure loss into a stunning victory at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai. This historic performance by De Klerk put RCB’s campaign on a high note right away.
Mumbai Indians Set the Stage
The match kicked off with RCB captain Smriti Mandhana winning the toss and opting to bowl first. Mumbai Indians, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, faced an early setback with regular opener Hayley Matthews ruled out due to illness. Despite the absence, MI put up a challenging total.
S Sajana led a counterattack, hitting 45 off just 25 balls, including seven fours and a six. Nicola Carey also added 40 runs from 38 deliveries. But it was de Klerk who swung the innings in RCB’s favor, taking four wickets for just 26 runs in her four overs. She dismissed key batters, including Harmanpreet Kaur caught behind for 20 and Nicola Carey, restricting MI to 154/6.
RCB’s Collapse and De Klerk’s Resurgence
Chasing 155, RCB’s top order crumbled. Smriti Mandhana, Grace Harris, and Richa Ghosh fell inside eight overs, leaving Bengaluru reeling at 65/5. They needed 90 more runs. Mumbai Indians looked firmly in control. But de Klerk, fresh off her bowling heroics, was not giving up.
She joined Arundhati Reddy (20 off 25 balls), and together they forged a crucial 52-run partnership. This stand stabilized the chase, even as the asking rate kept climbing. RCB head coach Malolan Rangarajan later said calling it just a “finisher’s job” would be a “disservice” to de Klerk, noting she played from “the seventh over or so… till the last ball.” According to ESPNcricinfo, this match was a form of redemption for de Klerk, who had been the last batter dismissed for South Africa at the same venue months earlier during the 2025 ODI World Cup final, watching Harmanpreet Kaur’s India celebrate.
A Last-Ball Heist for Bengaluru
The drama intensified in the late overs. Mumbai Indians missed several chances to seal the game in the 19th over. Nat Sciver-Brunt dropped a straightforward catch off de Klerk. Amelia Kerr then spilled another miscued shot, and G Kamalini missed a run-out opportunity. These lapses kept RCB in the hunt.
Going into the final over, RCB needed 18 runs, with Nat Sciver-Brunt bowling. The first two balls were dots to de Klerk. ESPNcricinfo’s win-probability model showed RCB’s chances had plummeted to 0.96% then. Going into the final over, RCB needed 18, and de Klerk scored 20 runs off it — SIX, FOUR, SIX, FOUR — with 18 coming off the last four balls to complete the heist. It was an unbelievable finish, leaving MI players stunned and RCB players in disbelief, as Times of India highlighted.
Records Tumble in Historic Start
De Klerk’s performance etched her name in WPL history. She became only the second player to score a fifty and take a four-for in the same game, joining Deepti Sharma. The 18 runs she hit off the last over is the third-highest total in the 20th over of a successful chase in all women’s franchise leagues.
Before this match, no women’s T20 team had won needing more than 15 runs off the final four balls. RCB also added 92 runs after their fifth wicket fell, a WPL record for a successful chase, according to ESPN. This venue, DY Patil Stadium, continues to be a chasing ground, with a 9-3 win-loss record for teams batting second.
Mumbai Indians will be ruing those late fielding lapses. For Royal Challengers Bengaluru, this is a huge statement win against the defending champions. It truly sets up WPL 2026 for excitement.
Sagnik Banerjee 
Priyanjan Paul