Spirit of Cricket: India, Pakistan blind teams shake hands after World Cup clash – watch | Cricket News
India beat Pakistan by eight wickets in a Women’s Blind T20 World Cup match at the Katunayake BOI Grounds in Colombo on Sunday. India chased down 136 for the loss of two wickets in 10 overs, registering their fifth consecutive victory of the tournament.Pakistan, in their second match of the event, were all out for 135 after their top order fell to 23 for 4. Mehreen Ali made 66 and Bushra Ashraf scored 44 to increase the total, but India produced seven runs in the innings.
In the chase, India acted quickly. Captain Deepika TC scored 45 runs and Anekha Devi remained unbeaten with 64. Anekha’s knock earned her the Player of the Match award as India advanced to the semi-finals.
Beyond the result, the match saw players from both sides shake hands, putting aside wider tensions between the two countries. The blind teams of India and Pakistan greeted each other after the match, although there was no handshake during the toss.Blind women from both countries shook hands in Sri Lanka, unlike their senior teams, who have avoided handshakes at recent tournaments. Watch the videoThe Indian men’s team had refused to shake hands with Pakistan during the Asia Cup in September. This stance was later seen in the Women’s World Cup and again in Sunday’s Rising Stars Asia Cup match in Doha.On Sunday, however, the blind women’s teams not only shook hands at the end of the match, but they also traveled to the venue together on the same bus and exchanged compliments.Pakistan captain Nimra Rafique congratulated India, while Indian captain TC Deepika said Pakistan played well. Both teams applauded each other but were not allowed to speak to the media.Blind cricket is played with a white plastic ball filled with ball bearings to help players locate it by sound. Each team will field at least four completely blind players, three players who can see up to two meters and four visually impaired players who can see up to around six meters. Totally blind batters may have a visually impaired runner, and bowling is done underarm.Australia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the United States are also part of the tournament, which began in India before moving to Sri Lanka for the final stages. The final will be played next Sunday in Colombo.
