A rampant run chase by the Indians handed Sri Lanka their first loss in the 5th Blind Cricket World cup which is held in Dubai. The islanders who were confident after a massive win yesterday, failed to continue their winning ways, as their neighbors cruised to a comfortable win by 6 wickets.
Indian skipper Ajay Kumar Reddy won the toss and elected to field first. Out came the Lions who continued their flamboyant batting style from the word go. The openers, K Silva and Suranga Sampath laid the foundations for their team with a 104 runs stand but unfortunately Silva, who had an extra runner in the middle, was run out for a brisk 64 off just 46 deliveries.
Australia demolished by the Lions
5th Blind Cricket World cup kicked off in Dubai on the 8th…
Centurion from the previous match, Ruwan Wasantha, could not show his heroics with the bat this time but his partner Suranga played a responsible innings of 68 runs before he was dismissed by some brilliance in the field by the Indians. However, skipper Chandana Deshapriya steadied the ship for his side with a well composed unbeaten 97 off just 67 deliveries to steer Sri Lanka to a respectable total of 358 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. For the Indians, Sunil Ramesh picked up 3 wickets for 43 runs.
In reply, India got off to a flying start. The two openers, Deepak Malik and Venkateshwar Rao, laid the perfect platform for their side. Deepak who took the attack to the bowling played the dominant role in the partnership which lasted 7 overs and most importantly they managed to score 78 runs in those 7 overs.
Wicket keeper batsman Prakash Jayaram came in at first drop and continued the onslaught against the Lankan bowling attack. His knock of 75 runs helped India to inch closer to the target. However, the highlight of the match was the innings from Deepak Malik. He carried his bat through the innings and ended up at 178 runs in just 107 deliveries to give India a massive win by 6 wickets. Sri Lanka will face Nepal in their 3rd match of tournament on the 13th of January.
Sri Lanka 358/8 (40) Chandana Deshapriya 97*, Suranga Sampath 68, K Silva 64, Sunil Ramesh 3/43
India 359/4 (31.1) Deepak Malik 178*, Prakash Jayaram 75, Chandana Kumara 1/40
Man of the Match: Deepak Malik (IND)
Most valuable Player: Chandana Deshapriya (SL)
Chandana Deshapriya speaking to ThePapare.com had this to say:
“Even though we started off well with a good opening start, we lost some quick wickets in the middle order. I had to hold one end up and somehow take my team to a respectable total. We are hoping to get back to winning ways in the coming matches.”
