COLOMBO: India beat Nepal by seven wickets in Colombo on Sunday to win the first Women’s Blind T20 World Cup.
India won the toss and elected to field and restricted 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 United States.
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 co-hosted the tournament with the final at Sri Lanka’s oldest Test venue, the P Saravanamuttu Stadium.
Blind cricket is played with a white plastic ball filled with ball bearings that vibrate as it rolls, allowing it to be heard by the players.
The bowler should ask the striker if he is ready, then shout “play” when the ball is thrown under the arm with at least one bounce.
Each team has 11 players, like regular cricket, but at least four must be totally blind. Players are required to wear a blindfold for the sake of fairness.
Players clap once to reveal their position.
Other players may be visually impaired, classified by the distance they can see: two meters for B2 players, six for B3 players.
Each team can have up to eight B1, or totally blind, players. Any point scored by a B1 player counts as two.
