WPL: Nadine de Klerk shines with all-round performance versus MI
What's the story
After picking up a four-fer with the ball for Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women against Mumbai Indians in Match 1 of the Women's Premier League 2026, Nadine de Klerk hit a match-winning fifty. Her 4/26 from 4 overs helped RCB restrict MI to 154/6. And then, she hit an unbeaten 63 as RCB won after being 65/5 at one stage. Here are the details.
Bowling
4th RCB bowler with four-plus wickets in a WPL match
Playing just her 2nd WPL match, de Klerk now owns six scalps at 10.26. She claimed her maiden four-fer. As per ESPNcricinfo, she is the fourth RCB Women bowler with four-plus wickets in a WPL match. She joined Ellyse Perry, Asha Shobhana and Shreyanka Patil (2). She is also the 2nd RCB Women bowler with 4-plus wickets in a match against MI after Perry.
Runs
Batting feats attained by de Klerk
De Klerk stood tall with a knock of 63* from 44 balls. She smashed 7 fours and 2 sixes, striking at 143.18. De Klerk is now the third RCB batter with a fifty-plus score against MI, joining Perry (2) and Smriti Mandhana (1). As per Cricbuzz, De Klerk now owns the highest WPL score while batting at 6 or lower, surpassing Chinelle Henry (62).
Do you know?
An all-round feat for de Klerk in WPL
As per Cricbuzz, de Klerk is now the 2nd player in WPL to clock 50+ runs & four+ wickets in a WPL match since Deepti Sharma 59 & 4/19 UPW vs DC, Delhi, 2024.
Knock
De Klerk smashes 63* to win the match for RCB
RCB Women started well before losing their way to be pegged back at 65/5. A 52-run stand for the 6th wicket between de Klerk and Arundhati Reddy brought RCB Women hope. MI hit back, reducing their opponents to 121/7. However, de Klerk's explosive knock changed the complexion. She smashed 20 runs in the final over and won the contest for her side.