The race for individual honours in the Women’s Premier League 2026 reached a fever pitch on Monday night as Nat Sciver-Brunt etched her name into the history books. By smashing the tournament’s first-ever century, the Mumbai Indians star not only secured a vital 15-run victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru but also vaulted to the top of the Orange Cap standings.
Nat Sciver-Brunt’s unbeaten 100 off 57 balls has seen her move past the competition. She now holds a 59-run lead over her captain, Harmanpreet Kaur. Meanwhile, RCB’s Smriti Mandhana slipped to fourth after a rare single-digit outing.
While Nandani Sharma maintains her grip on the Purple Cap, the gap has narrowed to a single wicket. MI’s Amelia Kerr and RCB’s Lauren Bell both climbed the rankings following their two-wicket hauls on Monday.
Sciver-Brunt revealed that the "nervous nineties" were on her mind as she approached her milestone. In WPL history, several stars including Georgia Voll and Sophie Devine (both 99) had fallen agonizingly short of the triple-figure mark.
I’ve seen a few players get out in the 90s, so I didn’t want to replicate that. It’s obviously a special moment to reach that milestone, but more importantly, it was about getting runs on the board for the team. These last two games are pretty much knockout games for us
Nat Sciver-Brunt
Mumbai Indians' skipper Harmanpreet Kaur credited the team’s resurgence; which has seen them jump to the second spot, to a timely mid-season break focused on team bonding.
That small break we had really helped us. We sat together, had good bonding sessions, and spoke about how to approach these last two games. Whenever the team is challenged, someone always steps up
Harmanpreet Kaur
