Mumbai Indians (MI)’s superstar spinner Melie Kerr became the highest-ever wicket-taker in Women’s Premier League (WPL) history while playing in the 2026 season opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Friday (January 9). Kerr went past teammate Hayley Matthews, who missed the game due to illness, to 42 tournament scalps, becoming the first ever to do so, reaching there in just 30 innings at an average of 17.21.
Kerr and Matthews have been lynchpins of the MI 11 since the first season, providing exceptional balance to the team with their all-round ability. Both often open the batting innings, too.
On Friday, while Kerr couldn’t offset the impact of Matthews’ advantage with the bat, she did more than enough with the ball. In the first
innings, coming out as an opener with the young G Kamalini, the Kiwi conceded a maiden over against RCB’s pacer Lauren Bell.
In the second innings, with MI defending 155, she stepped up with frugal middle-overs. She struck huge wickets of Richa Ghosh and Radha Yadav in her first two overs and could have had a third if not for a surprisingly overturned LBW against Arundhatti Reddy in her third over.
She was given her final over when RCB needed 44 off 30 and the batters, Reddy and Nadine de Klerk, played her out as carefully as they could, epitomising her impact on the match.
Most wickets in WPL history:
| Player | Team | Matches | Wickets | Average | Economy | 5 Wickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amelia Kerr | Mumbai Indians Women | 30 | 42 | 17.35 | 7.46 | 1 |
| Hayley Matthews | Mumbai Indians Women | 29 | 41 | 17.56 | 7.24 | – |
| Sophie Ecclestone | UP Warriorz Women | 25 | 36 | 18.38 | 6.68 | – |
| Natalie Sciver-Brunt | Mumbai Indians Women | 30* | 33 | 22.42 | 7.70 | – |
| Jess Jonassen | Delhi Capitals Women | 24 | 33 | 20.75 | 7.74 | – |
| Shikha Pandey | Delhi Capitals Women | 27 | 30 | 23.20 | 6.96 | – |
| Marizanne Kapp | Delhi Capitals Women | 24 | 28 | 19.57 | 5.89 | 1 |
| Deepti Sharma | UP Warriorz Women | 25 | 27 | 29.29 | 8.29 | – |
| Saika Ishaque | Mumbai Indians Women | 23* | 25 | 21.20 | 7.69 | – |
Kerr’s economical spell left MI in a good place. In the next over, she even took the catch to get Reddy out off Nicola Carey’s bowling. The bowler also got rid of Shreyanka Patil on the last ball.
However, several players, including Kerr, made poor errors to let the match get to 18 needed off six balls with Nadine de Klerk on strike. Despite playing off two dot balls to start the 20th over, de Klerk managed to somehow take RCB through, pulling off one of the best chases in WPL history.
