New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) Big-hitting all-rounder Nadine de Klerk has pointed to the WPL 2026 opening match, where Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Mumbai Indians by three wickets, as the catalyst for the franchise believing that this could be a special season for them.

In that game at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, RCB were struggling to get going in the chase of 155 and were reeling at 65/5 in the eighth over. But Nadine, who picked a four-for earlier, came in and got going to hit an unbeaten 63 and pull off a heist for RCB.

That game began a dominating run for the Smriti Mandhana-led side, who are now gearing up to play the title clash on Thursday. “I think momentum is really a big thing in T20 competitions, especially when the games come thick and fast - like they do in this competition. So I guess obviously it was the first game of the tournament and there's been a massive build-up around that game obviously.

“I guess just to get over the line and get a win from a difficult position with our backs against the wall and then giving ourselves the confidence that if we end up in that same position again, we can do the same thing, and we have actually (done that).

“It's been different players doing that for us, whether it was Radha or Smriti or Grace or Richa has done it for us and we've had so many batters that actually stood up when we were under pressure and pulled out some sort of miracle, which is obviously great. I think in the final, we're going to need more of that. So it's great that people have done it in this competition and take that confidence with them as well into the final,” Nadine told IANS in a select virtual interaction on Tuesday.

The tournament has presented challenges in the second half, when action shifted from high-scoring games in Navi Mumbai to pitches in Vadodara giving assistance to spinners. Nadine explained how she has made that adjustment in terms of her all-round role on Vadodara’s slow pitches.

"Obviously quite hard for the bowlers in Navi Mumbai - high-scoring games and the wickets were pretty good for batting, and boundaries were quite small. I guess the biggest thing for us was to just really again stick to our strengths, use your pace off or use your strengths, stay on the stumps as much as you can.

“It's been a little different, maybe not as much bounce, maybe a little bit slower as well. But I think we've adjusted really well. We've recognised that maybe going down the ground when you're batting is a better option than going across the line. I think we've adapted really well to the conditions and we've executed pretty well over the last couple of games as well," she said.

For a long time, Nadine struggled to be a regular starter in WPL playing elevens for RCB and Mumbai Indians. But this time in the absence of star all-rounder Ellyse Perry, Nadine has become a regular starter for RCB – seen from her amassing 126 runs as a finisher and being the second leading wicket-taker with 15 scalps.

Nadine’s mantra of finishing games has been very simple: it’s all about timing, being in a good position and staying really calm in the last four or five overs, when the onus is on her to pull off jaw-dropping heists. The South African revealed that maintaining a ‘never-give-up’ attitude under pressure comes from an acceptance that failure is part of the game, combined with a personal ritual keeping her grounded.

“It's not always easy, but I think a little bit of faith really helps. I think just about, I mean, as a professional cricketer, you do know that things are not always going to go your way. You're not going to pick up wickets every game, you're not going to be economical every game, and you're not going to finish off games every single time and I think that is okay as well.

“I think making peace with the fact that you are going to fail sometimes, that's just how cricket works. Dealing with it, not trying to get hung up on that too much. I think try and move on quickly, whether you've scored hundred or got a duck. I just try to take the learnings and move on quickly.

“But like I said, it's very important for me in whatever role I play, whether it's with bat or ball. I mean, any cricketer really is always under pressure. So whatever works for you, but like I said, for me, it's just one small prayer that really does miracles. It really just keeps you calm and I think once you are calm, you just make better decisions and your natural skill set will just kick in as well,” she elaborated.

In RCB’s final league game win over UP Warriorz, the scrambled seam became Nadine’s go-to option – Meg Lanning was caught at cover point, while Amy Jones was trapped lbw on WPL debut. She again used the scrambled seam well to get two more scalps in the back-end and add more sheen to her value as the best bowler in middle and death overs in WPL 2026.

Nadine signed off by revealing how her South Africa team-mate Anneke Bosch was the main driving force behind her developing the scrambled seam delivery. “It’s actually a funny story. I'm obviously an out-swing bowler. We actually played a Test match against England.

“Weird enough, Anneke Bosch was a seamer back in the day. She said to me, try bowling that cross seam ball for the one to kind of that. She bowled someone through the gate by getting it to nip back. I've actually started working on that a bit because people always expect me to swing the ball away.

“So I would normally use that as a variation, get the one to nip back in and it's actually worked wonders for me, to be honest. I feel especially coming on after the power play with the ball is not necessarily that new anymore, and I'm not bowling with the new ball - that scramble seam has really worked because you sometimes get it to nip back in or just skids on.

“Then I will mix it up with going seam up, hopefully for the one to just go straight on or try and swing it away. So funny that it came from her, who's now a spin bowler. But you learn from different people on this journey as you go, and sometimes different things work for you. I feel like that specific ball has worked really well for me over the last couple of years.”

--IANS

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