Indian blind team suffers first bilateral series defeat in six years

Ajay Reddy

India's blind cricket world champion side suffered its first bilateral series loss in six years, losing 1-2 to Sri Lanka in Colombo recently. The Indians, led by Ajay Reddy, lost the first match on Sunday by two-wickets and the second on Monday by seven wickets. Yesterday, the visitors won the third encounter by 66 runs. "Bahut bura lag raha hai series haarke [I am feeling really bad after losing this series]," Reddy told mid-day over the phone from the Emerald isle yesterday.

Reddy, who led the team to the World Cup triumph beating Pakistan in the final in UAE earlier this year, said the team has a slew of new young players, who probably failed to handle the pressure of international cricket. "Though seven or eight of our players are experienced enough, the rest are newcomers and they failed to cope with the pressure.

After our first two defeats, I sat with them and shared my own story. I told them that when I started playing cricket in 2010, I was in the B3 category [partially blind; those who can see up to a distance of six meters]. Then, as my vision got poorer, from 2012, I began playing in the B2 category [those who can see up to two meters]. I told them that it was tough for me to adjust but I worked hard on my game and led from the front. I told them to get over the anxiety and just play their natural game. It worked and we won the third match," added Reddy.

Yesterday, batting first, Ganesh Mudkar (84), Sunil Ramesh (54) and Lingaraj Rautara (40) were the chief scorers as India posted 328 for eight on the board in their allotted 40 overs. In reply, the hosts were bowled out for 257 in 34.1 overs. Sahan Kumara (84) was the top scorer for the Lankans. For India, Rambir Singh and Reddy claimed three and two wickets respectively. India take on the Lankans in five T20Is beginning tomorrow, following which they will tour England. "This series defeat is surely a matter of concern. We must strengthen our bench strength," said John David, CABI secretary.

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