Blind Cricket World Cup: India retain title, beat arch-rivals Pakistan in final

Dubai, Jan 21: Sunil Ramesh slammed a superb 93 as India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan by two wickets in a thrilling summit clash to retain the Blind Cricket World Cup title here on Saturday (January 20).

Batting first, Pakistan amassed 308 runs, courtesy some useful contributions from Badar Munir (57), Riasat Khan (48) and captain Nisar Ali (47).

#BlindCricketWorldCup 🏆: Captain of Indian🏏team Ajay Kumar Reddy dedicates World Cup to #IndianArmy.@adgpi pic.twitter.com/cvCRY9T8R5

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) January 20, 2018

Ramesh then led the run chase as the Indians overhauled the target with eight balls to spare to retain the trophy that they had won in 2014 after beating the same opponents at Cape Town, South Africa.

India struggled in the final stages of their innings as Pakistan claimed three quick wickets to gain an upper hand.

#BlindCricketWorldCup: Captain of the Indian team Ajay Kumar Reddy receives the prize money and trophy pic.twitter.com/b8TugE5L6r

— Doordarshan News (@DDNewsLive) January 20, 2018

However, a wide delivery rolled on to the boundary and the pendulum swung back in India's favour.

India had beaten Pakistan on January 13 in the group stage. The defending champion had beaten Bangladesh by seven wickets in the semifinals.

Jahan chah wahan raah... As they rightly say, Determination will get you through everything. A big salute to our entire team. Hearty congratulations on winning the #BlindCricketWorldCup. #TeamIndia🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/y9wfRH1JEP

— sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 20, 2018

Prime Minister Narendra Modi applauded the team for the achievement. "Congratulations to our cricket team for winning the 2018 Blind Cricket World Cup! They make the nation proud and inspire every Indian with their game as well as phenomenal attitude. True champions!" Modi wrote on his twitter handle.

When determination meets dedication this happens. Big congratulations to Indian Team for beating Pakistan in the #BlindCricketWorldCup 👏 pic.twitter.com/J5iQRtWA0H

— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) January 20, 2018

Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh also heaped praise on the team. "What a win by #TeamIndia. Congratulations on winning #BlindCricketWorldCup," he wrote.