The Indian women’s blind cricket team made history at the International Blind Sports Association (IBSA) World Games in Birmingham, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed them on Saturday. In the rain-shortened final, the team headed by Sushma Patel beat Australia by 9 wickets to win the gold. In the allocated 20 over, India held Australia to 114/8 before chasing down the new goal of 42 in the fourth over.
PM Modi thanked the ladies in blue for their historic accomplishment at the IBSA World Games on social media.
“Congratulations to India’s women’s blind cricket team for taking home the gold in the IBSA World Games! A tremendous accomplishment that best represents the skill and unwavering spirit of our athletes. India exudes pride!” On Saturday, PM Modi published on the microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter).
Blind cricket was played for the first time in the IBSA World Games, and the Indian women’s team went unbeaten by winning all of their league matches.
After choosing to bat first, Australia had a bad start as they lost their first wicket in the fourth over.India reduced Australia to 39/3 by taking two wickets in the eighth and ninth overs.
After that, the Australian innings was supported by a 54-run partnership between C. Lewis and C. Webeck. India responded, however, by taking wickets at regular intervals to limit Australia to a meager 114/8 in the allowed 20 overs.
India was given a revised goal of 42 runs using the Duckworth-Lewis formula after the weather delay. Against the Aussies, the ladies in blue came out swinging and chased down the mark in only 3.3 overs with 9 wickets still standing.
The IBSA World Games final will feature a dramatic match between Pakistan and the Indian men’s blind cricket squad. When the two teams started their World Games campaign last week, Pakistan had trounced India by 18 runs.
