Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) all-rounder Nadine de Klerk said it would take a few days for the thrilling three-wicket win over defending champions Mumbai Indians to sink in truly. The South African star played a crucial role for RCB in the WPL opener and said trusting her strengths helped her deliver under pressure.
De Klerk was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets, conceding 26 runs to restrict the Mumbai Indians to 154 for six. She then led the chase with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 63 off 44 balls to take RCB home on the final delivery. She was awarded Player of the Match for her all-round performance.
“It is probably going to take a couple of days. If it is your day, you have to make sure you make the most of it. Glad to get the win,” de Klerk said after the match.
De Klerk's plan while bowling
Talking about her bowling, she said she kept things simple and focused on execution.
“It was about coming in, backing my skills and executing my plans. I just stuck to my strengths. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. On batting-friendly wickets like these, you need to cash in when you get the chance.”
De Klerk on batting
While batting, de Klerk said she wanted to stay on strike as much as possible to make an impact.
“Towards the end, I wanted to take most of the strike. We had a couple of important partnerships. Arundhati batted beautifully, and those couple of boundaries by Prema were also very important.”
RCB's chase
Coming back to the match, chasing 155 for a win, RCB were 137 for 7, needing 18 runs from the final over. De Klerk hit a six and a four from the third and fourth deliveries, needing eight runs from the last two balls. She struck a six off the penultimate delivery and then dispatched the last ball from Nat Sciver-Brunt for a four to complete a dramatic win.