In a riveting Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 encounter at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara on Monday 26 January, Mumbai Indians (MI) delivered one of their most commanding performances of the season to beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Women by 15 runs. Chasing a challenging target of 200, RCB finished at 184/9 in their 20 overs, unable to overhaul a total set by MI of 199/4, a score largely built on a historic individual effort.
The spotlight of the night unquestionably belonged to Nat Sciver-Brunt, who produced the first ever century in WPL history. Coming in after an early MI wicket, Sciver-Brunt anchored her side’s innings with a brilliant 100 not out off 57 balls, embellished with 16 fours and a six. Her knock was the defining innings of the match and helped MI surge to a competitive total despite slow batting conditions in Vadodara.
Sciver-Brunt’s century partnership was powered by a 131-run stand with Hayley Matthews, who herself played a crucial role in both halves of the contest. Matthews scored a fluent 56 off 39 balls, striking nine fours and providing the perfect foil to Sciver-Brunt’s dominance. Their collaborative effort not only steadied the innings after early hiccups but also ensured MI posted a total that would challenge even the best of chases.
With the ball, MI made early inroads into the RCB top order. Hayley Matthews was impressive with her left-arm spin, finishing with outstanding figures of 3/10 in just two overs, removing key batters and choking the scoring rate during the middle of the innings. RCB were 35-5 when Richa Ghosh came in.
The chase was anchored by a heroic effort from Richa Ghosh, who battled through with a strong 90 off 50 balls, including a flurry of boundaries and sixes that kept the chorus of hopes alive for RCB fans. Despite Ghosh’s valiant knock, RCB struggled to find consistent partnerships after being reduced to 35/5 inside the powerplay, making the chase far more difficult than anticipated.
By the end of the night, Sciver-Brunt’s unbeaten century and MI’s balanced bowling attack combined to keep the league’s playoff hopes alive for Mumbai, lifting them to second place on the points table while handing RCB their second loss in a row after a season of dominance.
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