Birmingham: Indian men’s blind cricket team registered their first win of the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) World Games 2023 after defeating Australia by 8 wickets in Birmingham.
India had to face a defeat at the hands of Pakistan Sunday but the Men in Blue came back hard at Australia to win the match Monday. In the women’s game, India thrashed England by 185 runs to win their second game of the showpiece event.
In the men’s game, opting to bat first, Australia had the worst possible start as the team from down under lost the first wicket in the first over. M Zannis and S Nero then steadied the ship as the duo batted carefully in the powerplay.
S Nero scored 51 runs in 43 balls and M Cameron chipped in with 39-ball 38 as Australia scored 139/4 in the allotted 20 overs.
Riding on the brilliant half-century of Nareshbhai Balubhai Tumda (62 not out in 33 balls), India chased down the target of 140 in just 13 overs. Sunil Ramesh and Nakula Badanayak scored 47 and 25 runs respectively as India registered a comfortable win over Australia.
Earlier in the day, the women’s team thrashed England by 185 runs to win their second match of the IBSA World Games 2023
The women in Blue won the toss and opted to bat first. India lost a wicket in the second over of the game, however, Gangavva Neelappa Harijan provided the side a ferocious start as the side scored 97 runs in the powerplay.
Neelappa continued her stellar and smashed a brilliant century (117 in 60 balls) as India went past the 200-run mark in the 14th over. Vice-captain Phula Saren and Valasanaini Ravanni chipped in with 49 and 54 runs respectively as India scored 268/2 in the allotted 20 overs.
Chasing a mammoth total of 269 runs, England got off to a bad start as the side scored 22 runs in the first 4 overs with a loss of one wicket. The bad form continued as England kept losing wickets in the chase. England batters struggled to get their feet in and never really looked good in the chase before scoring a paltry 83/8 in the 20 overs.
The Indian men’s blind cricket team will now play against England Tuesday while the women’s team will meet Australia Wednesday in the IBSA World Games 2023 in Birmingham.
Brief Scores: India women 268/2 (Gangavva Neelappa Harijan 117) beat England women 83/8 (K Jelfs-White 32)
India men 141/2 (Nareshbhai Balubhai Tumda 62) beat Australia 139/4 (S Neor 51)
IANS