The first ODI was held on December 27th, 2021 and players were happy to receive the blessings and cheers from Mahamandeleshwar Shri Purushotham Daas Ji Maharaj – Shivpuri Peet and Mahanth Shri Ram Kishore Daas Ji Maharaj Saver Gupa Jaipur.
Bangladesh Team won the toss and chose to bat. Bangladesh posted 264 runs in 40 overs losing all the wickets. India chased the target comfortably in 21.5 overs losing 2 wickets. Lokesha scored 142 of 77 Balls and turned out to be his first century in the ODI format. Captain Sunil Ramesh scored 72 of 35 balls to win the first ODI against Bangladesh. Lokesha was awarded the Man of the Match for his outstanding Batting display.
“It takes relentless hard work, days of undivided attention and a lot of perseverance chasing the dream to play Cricket. What separates our visually impaired players from the rest is the extremely talented youngsters who have been waiting for this single day to happen, because of their attitude towards the game” said Dr Mahantesh G. K – Founder Managing Trustee of Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled and President of Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) during the post-match presentation.
The second ODI was held on December 28, 2021 and the overs were reduced to 25 overs due to the Rain. The Second ODI was delayed and the toss once again was won by the Bangladesh Captain. Bangladesh was restricted to a low score and credit goes to the Indian Bowlers for the disciplined bowling. Bangladesh scored 196 runs in 25 overs losing 7 wickets. D Venkateshwara Rao scored 50 runs of 33 balls which helped India to win the 2nd ODI in 19.2 overs. Man of the Match was awarded to D Venkateshwara Rao for the outstanding performance.
Inder Singh Parmar Education Minister, Government of Madhya Pradesh was present during the toss and wished the players well. Smt Usha Thakur, Honourable Minister of State, Ministry of Culture & Tourism- Madhya Pradesh met the players and wished them well.
The last and the final ODI was played on December 29, 2021. Ms Pallove- CSR Lead, South Zone – IndusInd Bank and Dr Mahantesh G K – Founder Managing Trustee of Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled & President of CABI were present during the toss followed by the National Anthems of both the countries. Sunil Ramesh – Captain of Indian Blind Cricket Team won the toss and elected to bat first. The final match witnessed 3 brilliant centuries from the Indian Captain Sunil Ramesh, Durga Rao and Mohammad Abdul Malek. India Posted a massive score of 466 of 40 overs losing 5 wickets. Bangladesh played all the 40 overs and failed to reach the target. Bangladesh scored 289 losing 4 wickets in 40 overs.
The Post Match presentation witnessed many guests and well-wishers of Blind Cricket. Ms Pallove, CSR Lead South Zone – IndusInd Bank, Mr Pushpendra Tomar- Regional Head- IndusInd Bank and Mr Sandeep Yadav Regional Wealth Head, Dr Mahantesh G K – Founder Managing Trustee of Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled & President of CABI, Mr E John David – General Secretary Cricket Association for the Blind in India and CABMP officials were present.
Durga Rao was awarded the Man of the Match for scoring 173 of 113 balls with 26 boundaries. Asmot Ali, Mohammad Abdul Malek and Sunil Ramesh were awarded the Man of the series in the various categories. Players were awarded a cash prize of INR 10000/-, Trophy and a certificate. Md Ashiqur Rahman –Captain of Bangladesh thanked CABI for the opportunity to play in India and shared that his team is carrying home with lot of learning which will help Team Bangladesh to play better blind cricket in the years to come. Indian Captain Sunil Ramesh thanked the players for the outstanding performance during the series. The Captain of Bangladesh received the Runner Up Trophy, Cash Prize of INR 25000/- and certificates. Sunil Ramesh- Captain of Indian Blind Cricket Team received the Trophy along with the cash prize of INR 50000/-. India emerged as the winner with 3-0 lead.
