India lose to Pakistan by 7 wickets in Blind T20 World Cup (Photos: Oinam Anand)
India fall short of hat-trick in Blind T20 World Cup against Pakistan at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi. India were clear favourites entering into the fixture as they were expected to beat arch-rivals Pakistan for the third time in the Blind T20 World Cup. Despite short delay due to foggy conditions at Kotla, the match started with India scoring at a brisk rate. At the end of the first innings India were able to post a gigantic total of 240-4 on the board. Unfortunately for home team the could not defend the total as tourists were able to chase down the target with seven wickets in hand.
Surprisingly, the spectator turnout at Kotla was decent including large numbers of blind spectators. The spectators were able to enjoy the coverage of match through ball-by-ball commentary. It was quite interesting to watch batsmen score runs with quite handsome run-rate and providing the entertaintment to the audience present at Feroz Shah Kotla.
It was quite disheartening for Indian fans to witness their team lose against arch-rivals, Pakistan. India started out their campaign with a bang thrashing Bangaladesh by 129 runs followed by a convincing win against West Indies by 142 runs. Pakistan too had a promising start to their campaign beating New Zealand by 10 wickets followed by another win against England by 97 runs. With a win against hosts India, the tourists are clear favourites in the tournament as they are yet to lose a match in the tournament.
Though, India lost the match, it was satisfying to watch spectators shouting at the loudest pitch of their voice as soon as they heard the commentator updating them with live action on the field. It was inspiring to watch players hitting the underarm ball with brute force generated mostly from sweep shots despite the ball barely rising above the batsman’s ankles. India will be looking to make a comeback after their first loss in the tournament.
