Andhra Pradesh Wins National Blind Cricket Final

New Delhi, November 25, 2021: Andhra Pradesh won their 4th IndusInd Bank Nagesh Trophy National T20 Cricket Tournament for the Blind 2021-22 title for the third time in a row on Thursday at Sri Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
 
In the Title clash between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, Karnataka won the toss and decided to Bowl. Andhra Pradesh put up a strong 231 for 3 in 20 overs. Karnataka was able to score only 204 for the loss of 3 wickets, falling short of the target by 27 Runs.
 
Venkateshwara Rao was the highest scorer for Andhra with 85 Runs off 36 balls and was declared the Man of the Match.
 
Chief Guest Meenakshi Lekhi, Hon’ble Minister of State for External Affairs of India while applauding the spirit of the players said, “I am amazed at the felicitous co-ordination of the organisers, sponsors, DDCA, British & Australian High Commissions and supporters for their generosity and firm belief in the spirit of our wonderful players. I extend my best wishes to the contending teams. I can be very judicious in my assessment without taking sides. I am excited about the Women’s Blind National Tournament sue to be held Bangalore next year. Our government has been putting in tremendous efforts to bring in the gender parity.”
 
With a fourth time straight in a row, the Andhra Pradesh team made their entry to the finals of the tournament since its inception in 2019. Whereas this was the 2nd time for team Karnataka to have reached the finals.
 
CAB Andhra Pradesh won all its five league matches and remained at the top of the chart. CAB Karnataka won consistently 4 out of the 5 league matches and stayed ahead of the game.
 
The Cricket tournament was organised by The Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) in association with the Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled. India currently holds the Blind Cricket World Cup T20 trophy, won in 2018.
 
This tournament will help in selecting key players for the upcoming International Championships. Overall, 56 probable players will be shortlisted. 17 players will be finalised for the world cup squad and will represent India in T20 World Cup.
 
400 visually impaired players converged on 6 Grounds in the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi to play an overall of 67 T20 matches between 16th – 25th November 2021