Pakistan’s visually-impaired cricket team defeated India by 18 runs in their opening match of the IBSA World Blind Games in Birmingham on Sunday.
Pakistan was invited to bat first and scored 187 runs for 8 wickets in 20 overs. Muhammad Salman top-scored with 50 runs off 31 deliveries, while captain Nisar Ali scored 46 and Badar Munir 37.
India VI’s Ajay Kumar Reddy took 4 wickets, while Nakula Badanayak took 3.
In reply, India VI was restricted to 169 for 7 wickets in 20 overs. Matiullah bowled a superb 18th over in which he conceded just 4 runs.
India lost 3 wickets, including one run out, to collapse from 150 for 3 to 154 for 6. Sunil Ramesh top-scored for India VI with 62 runs, while Durga Rao Tompaki scored 40.
Matiullah took 2 wickets for Pakistan. Five Indian batters were run out.
Pakistan will play its next game against Bangladesh on Tuesday.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the match:
- Pakistan’s batting was impressive, with Salman, Ali, and Munir all scoring well.
- Matiullah’s bowling was also impressive, and he was able to restrict India to a below-par score.
- India’s batting collapsed in the last few overs, and they were unable to chase down Pakistan’s total.
The victory is a good start for Pakistan in the IBSA World Blind Games. They will be looking to build on this performance and challenge for the title.
