BASIL SYLVESTER PINTO
PANAJI
Twice World Blind T20 champions India had a scare against Sri Lanka before seasoned campaigner and captain, Ajay Kumar Reddy pulled off an exciting one-run win bowling three consecutive dot balls in the fifth game of the L&T Technology Services Triangular Twenty20 Cricket Series for the Blind at the GCA Academy ground, Porvorim on Wednesday.
India finished their round-robin engagements undefeated and with 12 points and thus have made it to the final of the tri-nation tournament, to be played on October 13 at the same venue. With the other summit spot still up for grabs, Sri Lanka will play England on Thursday at 11am at Porvorim.
Put into bat, the Indian openers got off to a fine start raising 50 runs for the opening wicket in good time. Prakasha Jayaramaiah set the tone of the innings sweeping the first delivery to the ropes while Ganesh Madhukar 31 (26b, 3x4) at the end provided an able foil.
Sri Lanka pegged India back with a double blow in the sixth over with Prakasha bowled around the legs by B1 bowler Saman Thusara after a whirlwind 27 (16b, 5x4) with B1 batsman Naresh caught by Desapriya at short leg next ball. By the 10th over, India looked pretty at 103/3 with Sunil Ramesh looking in fine fettle striking boundaries at will. In an eventful 12th over, Reddy struck a six, while moments earlier Ramesh notched a half-century in only 23 balls. At this point, India looked to get into the fifth gear with wickets in hand. Sri Lanka had other plans and came into their own with some incisive bowling. Sunil Ramesh was out after an attractive 64 that came from just 39 balls and was studded with 10 hits to the fence. Captain Reddy who did not look at his best stayed unconquered on 44 (37b, 1x6). The hosts were restricted at 192 for the loss of 5 wickets. B1 bowler, Saman Thusara was the pick of the Lanka bowlers with returns of 2/30.
Chasing the big score, the Lanka Lions got off the square quickly as well. At 50/1 by the 5th over, they looked intent to take the fight into the opposition camp. But in the next two overs all hell broke loose as some excellent close-in fielding by the home team yielded three sticks in the form of run-outs including the in-form Desapriya for 1.
B1 opener Pathum Saman Kumara played a significant 36 (16b, 2x4). Placed precariously at 68/5 after 7 overs, Sri Lanka lower-order shouldered responsibility and resoluteness to take the game deep. The ominous sixth-wicket stand was finally snapped by D Rao in the 16th over claiming the big stick of B2 Dinesh Mathugama for a run-a-ball 35.
With 40 to get from the last four overs with four batsmen still to come it was anyone’s game. Ramesh made an important breakthrough at the stage by scalping B1 batsman, K Kumara who made a valuable 18. Chaminda Bandara took the match 21 runs adrift to the target when he became the eight victim to yet another run-out in the innings. Bowling in the penultimate over, B3 T Durga Rao conceded eight runs to leave India to defend 10 runs in the last over.
Coming on to bowl the decisive final over, India captain Reddy (B2) was struck for successive fours off his first two pacy deliveries by his opposite number and keeper-bat, Priyantha Kumara (B3) with the Sri Lanka camp at the pickets sensing a famous win. Next delivery, the well-set Priyantha had to settle for a single leaving B1 batsman, Dimuthu Ravindra with the heroic endeavour of finishing the job. Needing 2 runs of the final three deliveries, all the fielders were brought in, with Dimuthu needing only to scamper a single for a nerve-crunching win. But the script of the game had another twist. Ravindra played out the next two balls as dots and needed to pick out the last ball for a single to double the run for a win. Facing the last delivery, Ravindra tried to sweep the ball but was aground within his crease as his helpless partner, Priyantha ran up the pitch to be run-out for an unsung 43 (35b, 4x4) as India eked out an exciting single-run win. Sunil Ramesh (B3) of India later received the Man of the Match award.
