Birmingham, 22 August 2023 (TDI): Pakistan’s blind and partially sighted cricket team defeated India by 18 runs, putting the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) World Games 2023 in Birmingham, United Kingdom, off to a strong start.
The 2023 International Blind Sports Federation World Games will be the largest high-level international tournament for athletes with vision impairment, with over 1,250 participants from 70 countries competing.
The competition started on August 14 and will be ended on August 27 at the University of Birmingham.
The tournament’s 2023 edition includes three Paralympic sports and seven non-Paralympic events: archery, chess, cricket, men’s blind football, partially sighted football, women’s blind football, goalball, judo, powerlifting, showdown, ten-pin bowling, and tennis.
According to the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council, India won the toss at King Edward’s School and chose to field first, inviting Pakistan to bat first.
Pakistan batted first and set a reasonable aim of 187/8 from 20 overs. India, on the opposite hand, fell short by 18 runs and finished their 20 overs with 169/7.
Nisar Ali from Pakistan’s side got 46 runs off 33 balls and Muhammad Salman got 50 runs off 31 deliveries to enable Pakistan set a winning goal of 189 runs. Badar Munir contributed 37 runs off 24 balls.
For India’s visually impaired team, Ajay Kumar Reddy grabbed four wickets, while Nakula Badanayak sent three Pakistani batsmen to the pavilion. This reduced the target to 169 runs in 20 overs for the loss of seven wickets.
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However, India’s fortunes turned when they lost three wickets, including a run-out, reducing their total from 150 runs for three wickets to 154 runs for six wickets. Sunil Ramesh scored 62 runs for India, while Durga Rao Tompaki scored 40 runs.
Additionally, when they required 38 runs from the last three overs, Mati Ullah provided an outstanding 18th over, surrendering only four runs. Consequently, Pakistan was able to win the match.
Pakistan’s next match comes on Tuesday against Bangladesh.
