Bengaluru: Karnataka beat Andhra by four wickets in a match that went to the wire to level the series 1-1 in the Champions Trophy Men’s Bilateral T20 Cricket Tournament for the Blind being played here at the Lakshyan Cricket Ground, Chokkasandara. Needing 12 runs off the last three deliveries, Sunil Ramesh struck three consecutive boundaries of Ajay Kumar Reddy to clinch the victory for the hosts and in the meantime celebrate his century too. He remained unbeaten on 103 runs of 51 balls with the help of 15 boundaries and one six.
Earlier, Karnataka captain Javare Gowda won the toss and opted to field. Andhra, who had posted a big total in the previous match were in the mood to continue the same. Openers T. Durga Rao and Ajay Kumar Reddy were on top of the Karnataka bowlers and were scoring runs freely. They stitched together a 161 runs partnership from 15.4 overs before Ajay was dismissed for 62 of 42 balls. Durga Rao completed his century of 61 balls with the help of 16 boundaries and one six. D. Venkateswara Rao gave the final touches to the innings smashing six boundaries in his 13 ball 29 run innings. Andhra ended their innings on 204/4 in their 20 overs. Sunil Ramesh scalped one wicket for Karnataka.
Karnataka’s chase did not start well as they lost Prakash Jayaramaiah and Bassappa Waddagolu inside 6 overs with the score reading 38. Bhaskar was dismissed for 22 in the 9th over. Sunil Ramesh was joined by Lokesha and both batters resurrected the chase, with Sunil taking the upper hand in the partnership. Lokesha was dismissed for 25 in the 15th over after a partnership of 68 runs with Sunil. Basavaraj M Hullenavar was dismissed in the very next over. Sunil maintained his end and took the innings to the final stretch before his final over heroics. Requiring 13 runs to win in the final over, Ajay Kumar conceded just one run from the first three balls. M. Sai Krishna was run out in the third giving Sunil the strike. Sunil struck three consecutive boundaries and completed his century in the process, more importantly, scored the winning runs for the hosts. He remained unbeaten on 103 runs and was adjudged the player of the match.
Brief Scores
Andhra Pradesh – 204/4 in 20 Overs (T. Durga Rao – 100, Ajay Kumar Reddy – 62, D. Venkateswara Rao – 29 no; Sunil Ramesh – 1/36) lost to Karnataka – 205/6 in 20 Overs (Sunil Ramesh – 103 no, Lokesha – 25, Bhaskar – 22; T. Durga Rao – 1/41, A. Ravi – 1/13)
Read more:
Teams from 24 States to participate in T20 National Cricket Tournament for the Blind
AP triumphs over K’taka in high-scoring blind cricket match
India’s Women’s Blind Cricket Team to play Nepal in T20 Series
India’s Blind Women’s Cricket team in selection for Nepal series
Report of Inauguration: Group B Nagesh Trophy Nat’l T20 Cricket
