India beat Pakistan by two wickets in thrilling final to retain Blind Cricket World Cup title

Sunil Ramesh slammed a superb 93 as India defeated arch rivals Pakistan by two wickets in a thrilling summit clash to retain the Blind Cricket World Cup title in Sharjah on Saturday.

PTI, Jan,20 2018

Sharjah: Sunil Ramesh slammed a superb 93 as India defeated arch rivals Pakistan by two wickets in a thrilling summit clash to retain the Blind Cricket World Cup title in Sharjah on Saturday.

India's players pose with the trophy after beating Pakistan in the Blind World Cup final. Image courtesy: Twitter @DDNewsLive

India's players pose with the trophy after beating Pakistan in the Blind Cricket World Cup final. Image courtesy: Twitter @DDNewsLive

Batting first, Pakistan amassed 308 runs, courtesy some useful contribution by Badar Munir (57), Riasat Khan (48) and captain Nisar Ali (47).

Ramesh then led the run chase as India overhauled the target with eight balls to spare to retain the trophy that they had won in 2014 after beating the same opponents at Cape Town, South Africa.

India struggled in the final stages of their run chase as Pakistan claimed three successive wickets to gain an upper hand over their arch-rivals.

However, a wide delivery rolled on to the boundary and the pendulum swung back in India's favour.

India had beaten Pakistan on 13 January in the group stage. The defending champions had beaten Bangladesh by seven wickets in the semi-final.

Accolades poured in for the Indian team with Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulating the team for their achievement.

Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh also heaped praise on the team.

Published Date: Jan 20, 2018 | Updated Date: Jan 20, 2018




Rank Team Points Rating
1 India 4969 124
2 South Africa 3888 111
3 Australia 4174 104
4 New Zealand 3489 100
5 England 4829 99
6 Sri Lanka 4058 94
Rank Team Points Rating
1 South Africa 6386 120
2 India 6680 119
3 New Zealand 6650 117
4 England 6483 116
5 Australia 6077 113
6 Pakistan 4875 96
Rank Team Points Rating
1 New Zealand 2262 126
2 Pakistan 2843 124
3 India 3385 121
4 England 2029 119
5 West Indies 2538 115
6 South Africa 2238 112