India crush Bangladesh in T20 for blind tie

Bangalore, Dec 9 (IANS):

Even as Indian regulars reeled under a humiliating defeat from England in the Kolkata Test, their visually challenged counterparts crushed Bangladesh Sunday by 10 wickets in a league tie of the T20 World Cup for blind here.

The charged-up Indian team took just 11 balls (1.5 overs) to reach the low target of 58 runs for no loss after Bangladesh collapsed at 57 for nine wickets in the stipulated 20 overs at the Central College grounds in the city centre.

As the Indian bowlers ran through the Bangladeshi team to its lowest ever total in the tournament, their batters did not have enough runs on the board to chase or demonstrate their prowess in the middle in the one-sided match.

Indian vice-captain Ajay Kumar Reddy (partially blind) was declared man of the match for scalping four wickets in four overs for eight runs.

In another match at the same ground, Australia thrashed South Africa by eight wickets after restricting the Proteas to a modest 185 runs for nine wickets in 20 overs and racing to the target in 14 overs for the loss of two wickets.

Aussie Lindsay Heaven (partially blind) was adjudged man of the match for his cameo 83 in 44 balls and registering a 171-run partnership with Matt McCarthy (partially blind) who hit 56 in 38 balls.

In the two games played at the Aditya Birla sports ground on the city’s outskirts, Pakistan maintained its winning streak, taming Sri Lanka by nine wickets after restricting the latter to 147 for nine wickets in 20 overs and reaching the target of 148 by losing just one wicket in 9.1 overs.

Pakistan openers Ali Murtaza (partially blind) and Mohammad Zafar (totally blind) scored 48 each in 22 and 18 balls respectively, while its bowler Anees Javed (partially blind) was declared man of the match for three wickets.

In the last game of the day, minnows Nepal again lost the match to West Indies without losing a wicket as the Caribbeans restricted the Himalayan kingdom to 164 for no loss in 18 overs after setting an imposing target of 237 for three wickets in 18 overs.

Two overs were reduced for both the teams due to dew on the pitch. Windies Gregory Stewart (partially blind) was man of the match for his fine 87 in 45 balls.

India take on South Africa Monday in the last group tie, while West Indies will play against England, Pakistan with Nepal and Sri Lanka against Bangladesh.