Blind Cricket: Karnataka clinches Nagesh Trophy beating Andhra Pradesh

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Karnataka on Friday lifted the IndusInd Bank Nagesh Trophy after defeating Andhra Pradesh by 9 wickets in the finals of the Men's National T20 Cricket Tournament for the Blind 2023-24 in Nagpur. This win comes after 20 years to Karnataka at the National level.

Andhra Pradesh set a formidable target by posting 237/5 in the final, showcasing a commendable performance. However, Karnataka (241/1) displayed remarkable resilience, chasing down the target with just 3 balls to spare, concluding the tournament with a thrilling finish for visually impaired cricketers.

Following 71 days of relentless cricket, featuring fiery batting and bowling performances, Karnataka claimed the coveted Nagesh Trophy. Sunil Ramesh was named as the Player of the Match. Andhra Pradesh, a formidable team that dominated the tournament for a significant duration, emerged as the second-best team.

In B1 category, Naresh Tumda (Gujarat), in B2 Dunna Venkateshwara Rao (Andhra Pradesh) and in B3 Sunil Ramesh (Karnataka) won the Player of the Series award. The winning team received the cash prize of INR 1,04,000 while the runners up got INR 80,000. The Player of the Series got INR 10,000 each. Player of the match received INR 3000.

Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI), Cricket Association for the Blind in Vidarbha and Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled organised the knockout matches at Nagpur. Justice Vinay Deshpande, President VCA , Shri Mohan Mate, MLA Government of Maharashtra Mr Shailender Yadav, General Secretary CABI, Mr Yogesh Taneja, Chairman of Nagesh Trophy, , Dr. Anup Marar, CEO Health of Shalinitai Meghe Hospital and Research Center, Mr Anjanappa Muttappa - CFO , Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled and Mr Chandrashekar, Founder Member of CABI graced the Nagesh Trophy final.

Put into bat first, Andhra got off to a good start with inform batter T. Durga Rao and D Venkateswara Rao starting the innings from where they left the other day. However, Venkateswara's stint was cut short in the 7th over.

Durga Rao and Ajay Kumar Reddy then carried the innings with the captain scoring the century. The side reached 185/2 in the 16th over. Andhra continued their momentum and kept the scoreboard ticking. In the 17th over, Andhra breached the 200-run mark and went onto put on a total of 237/5 in the allotted 20 overs in the Nagesh Trophy final. T. Durga Rao, the captain of Andhra smashed 128 runs in 72 balls.

In response, Karnataka faced an early setback losing the first wicket in the opening over. Nevertheless, Sunil Ramesh and Gudadappa orchestrated a spectacular 186-run partnership before Gudadappa retired. Sunil Ramesh's explosive innings of 149 runs in 67 balls guided Karnataka to victory, and was named the Player of the Match.

(An Excerpt from Agency)