Just three Sundays ago, Harmanpreet Kaur & Co outclassed by 52 runs in the Women’s ODI World Cup at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on November 2 by winning their maiden World Cup.
And this Sunday, Deepika TC led India’s blind women’s team to a dominant seven-wicket win over Nepal to clinch the maiden Blind Women’s T20 World Cup at the P Sara Oval in Colombo.
India put Nepal in to bat and restricted them to 114-5 in the allotted 20 overs. Sarita Ghimire and Bimala Rai scored 35 and 26 respectively for Nepal. Though India lost Deepika and Anekha Devi early, Phula Saren (27-ball 44 not out) and Karuna (42 off 27 balls) ensured victory for the team in just 12 overs.
Karnataka-born Deepika, who works at Mumbai’s Income Tax office, said her team was inspired by Harmanpreet & Co’s performance and visualised their victory a few weeks ago.
India skipper Deepika TC
From dream to reality
“Ahead of our World Cup campaign, during our training camp in Delhi, we sat together to watch the Indian women’s team’s World Cup win over South Africa in the final on TV. We were inspired by Harmanpreet & Co’s team work and while watching them win, we also visualised that we could do the same in Sri Lanka.
And today [Sunday] we are holding the World Cup in our hands. It’s a great feeling,” Deepika, a B3 category (partially sighted) cricketer, told mid-day over the phone from Colombo on Sunday.
Deepika, who scored 91 during India’s 209-run win over in the league phase, credited this triumph to the sheer hard work and all-round effort of her teammates.
“Winning the World Cup in the first attempt is a very big moment in our life. Right from the start of the tournament, we all were confident of this triumph as we have a lot of good all-rounders in the team. All our girls worked really hard to see this day. And let’s not forget their numerous battles off the field, on the family front or in society.
‘Govt, BCCI must support us’
I urge our government and the BCCI to help these girls and support blind . Everyone is supporting Harmanpreet’s team, so please support us too because we also represent India. Our future depends on this support. We assure you that the more opportunities you give us. That many more winning memories we will give you,” added the skipper.
Blind cricket explained
Blind cricket is played with a plastic ball filled with metal bearings that produce a jingling sound. Players are classified into three categories – B1 (fully blind), B2 (partially blind) and B3 (partially sighted). Each team must include a mix of all three groups. The ball is delivered underarm and rolled along the ground. B1 batters use runners for safety, and each run they score is counted as two.
Team India’s road to the title
. Beat SL by 10 wickets
. Beat Australia by 209 runs
. Beat Nepal by 85 runs
. Beat USA by 10 wickets
. Beat Pakistan by eight wickets
. Semi-final: Beat Australia by 9 wickets
. Final: Beat Nepal by seven wickets