(MENAFN- NewsBytes)
India beat Pakistan to lift blind cricket World Cup
20 Jan 2018
India have scripted history by successfully defending the blind cricket World Cup, beating arch-rivals Pakistan by 2 wickets at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in UAE.
Batting first, Pakistan set a target of 309 for India, riding on the back of Badar Munir's fifty, but Sunil Ramesh's 93-run knock helped India seal the victory in the 5th edition of the tournament.
Back to back titles for India
Fact
This is India's second World Cup title. Interestingly, they had won the first World Cup by outclassing Pakistan in the final in December 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Pakistan set India a 309-run target
Fighting target
India won the toss and invited Pakistan to bat first.
The green brigade got off to a fine start and Badar Munir's fine half-century propelled them further.
Riyasat Khan and skipper, Nisar Ali played brilliant knocks of 48 and 47 to take the total above 300.
After 40 overs, Pakistan finished at 308 for 8.
India hold nerves to overcome Pakistan
Thriller
In reply, Sunil Ramesh scored a fine 93 and captain Ajay Reddy scored a 63 run knock, as India reached the target in the penultimate over with two wickets in hand.
India are now the second country after Pakistan to win the blind cricket World Cup twice and are also the second one to successfully defend the cup.
India-Pakistan rivalry like no other
Top of the world
Defending champions, India have beaten Pakistan for the second time in this edition of the tournament.
In the group stages, Pakistan succumbed to a 7 wicket loss.
However, Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 156 runs in the semi-final to book a berth in the summit clash.
India overcame a challenge from Bangladesh, beating them by 7 wickets in the semi-final.
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