COLOMBO: India beat Nepal by seven wickets in Colombo on Sunday to win the inaugural Blind Women’s T20 World Cup.
India won the toss and opted to field, restricting Nepal to 114-5.
They responded with 117-3 in just 12 overs to become the unbeaten champions in an inaugural tournament that also included Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the USA.
India’s Phula Saren top scored with 44 off 27 deliveries. Nepal’s top scorer was Sarita Ghimire with 35 off 38 balls.
Sri Lanka and India hosted the tournament along with the final at Sri Lanka’s oldest Test venue, the P Saravanamuttu Stadium.
Blind cricket is played with a white plastic ball packed with ball bearings that rattles as it rolls, allowing it to be heard by the players.
The bowler must ask the striker if he or she is ready and then shout “play” as the ball is delivered under the arms with at least one bounce.
Each side has 11 players, just like regular cricket, but at least four must be completely blind. Players are required to wear blindfolds for fairness.
Fielders clap once to reveal their positions.
Other players may be visually impaired, classified by how far they can see – two meters for B2 players, six for B3.
Each team can have up to eight B1 or totally blind players. Any run scored by a B1 player counts as two.
