India beat Pakistan in Blind T20 final

Hosts take title with 29-run win in Bangalore.

Pakistan went into the final with heads held high but it was India who held their nerves on the field to win the inaugural edition of the Blind Cricket Twenty20 World Cup in Bangalore yesterday.

Pakistan had won nine matches in a row and withstood the breakfast table mishap when captain Zeeshan Abbasi accidentally drank phenyl. On the field, however, India performed better on the day to avenge their eight-wicket loss in an earlier round matches with the 29-run win yesterday.

Put into bat, India romped to 258 for eight off their quota. Ketan Bhai’s 98 laid the foundations for that competitive total as he was aided by Prakash Jayaramaiah (42) and Ajay Kumar Reddy (25). For the tourists, Mohammad Saleem, Mohammad Akram and Idrees Saleem took two wickets each.

In reply, Pakistan were expected to chase down the target but fell short despite Mohammad Jameel’s 47, Ali Murtaza’s 38 and Akram’s 32. Pakistan could only manage 229 for eight off their quota and had to settle for second place.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2012.