Published: Dec 08, 2014, 12:40 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 08, 2014, 12:40 PM (IST)
India defeated defending champions Pakistan to win the 4th Cricket World Cup for the Blind at Cape Town, South Africa on Sunday. In reply to Pakistan’s 389, India scored 392 with two balls to spare.
According to a report in CricketCountry, India won all games in the league, barring the opening game against Pakistan. The other participating countries were Sri Lanka, Australia, Bangladesh and England and hosts South Africa. Pakistan beat England in the semi-finals, while India ousted Sri Lanka.
Indian captain Shekar Naik said his team despite the lack of support from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He said: “Despite India being the richest cricketing country in the world and even managing the ICC, the BCCI still does not support blind cricketers. PCB [Pakistan Cricket Board] does not have much money, yet they are encouraging their blind cricketers, even giving them a monthly salary. We would do much better if we had that kind of support. The contribution from the Indian Sports Ministry of 25 lakh made it possible for us to come to South Africa and win, so I hope that we will get better recognition now.”
The win should be a shot in the arm for the 22,000 strong visually-handicapped cricketers in India.
