18 runs were needed in 6, 4, 6, 4.., 4 balls, Nadine de Klerk created history; RCB lost the game and won

Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Mumbai Indians by 3 wickets in the first match of Women’s Premier League Season 4 (WPL 2026). While chasing the target of 155 runs, Smriti Mandhana and Grace Harris had made a bright start, but due to continuous fall of wickets, Mumbai Indians had the upper hand. MI was close to victory till the last over, but Nadine de Klerk turned the tables in the last 4 balls.

However, this was not a story of just 4 balls, rather Nadine de Klerk batted well in the entire match and completed her half-century before hitting the winning four. On one hand, wickets were falling, Clerk played a sensible innings and brought the team closer to the target.

What happened in the last over?

Royal Challengers Bangalore needed 18 runs from 6 balls to win. Prema Rawat was on non-strike, while Nadine de Klerk did not take easy singles on the first two balls. She hit a brilliant six on the third ball of the over bowled by Natalie Sciver-Brunt. He completed his half-century by hitting a four on the fourth ball.

Nadine also hit a six on the fifth ball, after which RCB needed 2 runs to win on the last ball. He won the match for RCB by hitting a four on the last ball. He scored unbeaten 63 runs in 44 balls. In this innings he hit 2 sixes and 7 fours.

𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘. 𝗔. 𝗕𝗢𝗪, Nadine de Klerk!

🎥 She clinches a famous victory for @RCBTweets in the #TATAWPL 2026 opener ❤️

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/IWU1URl1fr#KhelEmotionKa , #MIvRCB pic.twitter.com/5a9kjYJc2b

— Women’s Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) January 9, 2026

RCB created history

In the last 3 seasons, it has never happened that Royal Challengers Bangalore has defeated Mumbai Indians in the first match of the edition. This is the first time this has happened. In this match held at DY Patil Stadium, Smriti Mandhana won the toss and decided to bowl first. Mumbai had scored 154 runs while batting first.

While chasing the target, the opening pair of Royal Challengers (Smriti and Grace Harry) had made a partnership of 40 runs, but after the break of this pair, RCB’s wickets kept falling continuously. Apart from the half-century innings of Nadine de Klerk (63), Arundhati Reddy (20) and Prema Rawat (8) played short but important innings.