India open Blind Cricket series with big win

Centuries by Prakash Jayaramaiah and Shekar Naik coupled with a disciplined bowling performance handed India a comfortable 129-run victory over Australia after they had put up 291 for 4 in the first Twenty20 match of the Blind cricket series at the KSCA Cricket grounds in Alur on Sunday (April 13).

Centuries from Prakash Jayaramaiah and Shekar Naik helped India beat Australia by 129 runs.


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The duo’s double-century stand was the highlight of the day, and ensured that Australia’s 162 for 5 fell well short.

Australia’s bowlers had made a good start with India losing Ajay Reddy and Ketan Patel early after opting to bat. However, that brought Jayaramaiah and Naik, the captain, together and the duo put on 217 runs for the third wicket in just 83 balls to power India forward.

Jayaramaiah scored the bulk of his runs in boundaries, smashing 30 fours in his 47-ball knock of 132, before retiring out with a hamstring injury in the 15th over. Jayaramaiah’s knock was marked by his ability to soak pressure, not getting bogged down by the early loss of wickets. Naik was an able ally, with a 63-ball 131, and was chiefly responsible for keeping the momentum going towards the end of India’s innings. Naik and Amol Karche amassed 41 runs off the final three overs to take India to a formidable score.

Chasing a steep target, Australia faced an early blow with Mark Haskett, the opener, stumped in the second over.

Michael Zennis (50 off 33) tried to repair the damage with a steady half-century before falling inches short of his crease as Jayaramaiah, the wicketkeeper, ran him out.

The Australian innings failed to recover thereafter, as the Indians put a check on the scoring with some disciplined bowling, taking the required run-rate beyond Australia’s reach.

Matt McCarthy, the Australia captain, added 20 quick runs with Cory Haberley, but that was not enough to take them over the line.

The two sides will face each other for the second and final T20 match of the bilateral series on Monday at the PES Grounds in Bangalore, before Australia head off to Sri Lanka for a bilateral series.

Brief Scores: India 291/4 in 20 overs (Prakash Jayaramaiah 132 retd., Shekar Naik 131; Lindsay Heaven 2-37, Matt McCarthy 2-64) beat Australia 162/5 (Michael Zennis 50, Corey Haberley 34; Amol Karche 3-10) by 129 runs.




By : Himanish Bhattacharjee- He  is a Sub-Editor at Wisden India. You can follow him @TheHimanish

Source : Wisden India , 13th April 2014