WPL 2026, MI vs RCB Live Cricket Score Updates: After riding her luck and surviving three chances in the 19th over, Nadine de Klerk scored 20 runs off the final four balls against Mumbai Indians to guide Royal Challengers Bengaluru to victory by three wickets in the opening game of the Women’s Premier League 2026 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. De Klerk was the star of the night for RCB, scoring an unbeaten 63 off 44 balls after taking four wickets for 26 runs with the ball.
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Mumbai Indians, asked to bat first after Smriti Mandhana won the toss, had set a target of 155 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. In the Mumbai innings, Sajeevan Sajana rode her luck after being dropped twice at the start to plunder 45 runs off 25 balls while Nicola Carey (40 runs) and Gunalan Kamalini (32) also pitched in with the bat. Mumbai slumped to 35/2 after losing the wickets of Amelie Kerr and Nat Sciver-Brunt early on and never quite recovered until Sajana and Carey took control.
MI vs RCB WPL Match 1 livestreaming: Watch here
The fourth edition of the WPL, set to be Navi Mumbai and Vadodara, will act as a warm-up tournament for the Women’s T20 world Cup, scheduled for June-July this year. The Mumbai Indians are heading into this WPL with one of the strongest side with skipper Kaur joined by Nat Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews, Shabnim Ismail and recent buys Amelia Kerr, Milly Illingworth and Amanjot Kaur.
RCB, meanwhile, was handed a big blow at the start of the season when it was revealed that allrounder Ellyse Perry has withdrawn from the tournament. Now, the pressure will be on skipper Mandhana once again to deliver on top of the order. She will, however have assistance from Georgia Voll, Grace Harris and Nadine de Klerk as well as Richa Ghosh who have all shown that they are adept with the willow. In the bowling department, they have Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Lauren Bell as well as Linsey Smith, Radha Yadav and Shreyanka Patil.
SCROLL DOWN TO FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES FROM THE WPL OPENER BETWEEN MI-W AND RCB-W.
Live Updates
MI vs RCB WPL Match 1 LIVE: Follow live updates from the Women’s Premier League Opener between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Smriti Mandhana (left) and Harmanpreet Kaur during the Women’s Premier League press conference ahead of WPL 2026. (PHOTO: WPL via X)
WPL 2026: In afterglow of World Cup triumph, Indian cricket will hope to unearth new gems
Under the Friday Night Lights of DY Patil Stadium, 68 days after the famous World Cup triumph at this very venue, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana will walk out to the middle once more, not as teammates and trusted leadership partners, but opposing captains.
The fourth edition of the Women’s Premier League promises to be more competitive than the previous versions, with teams having had the chance to reset at the mega auction. The league has already played a key role in elevating India’s top cricketers from competitors to winners but in the afterglow of becoming World Champions, the attention on Indian women’s cricket is bound to be higher than ever. (READ MORE)
