India drub Lanka to enter fil

T20 World Cup for Blind

Hyderabad, Feb 10 : Prakash J.s unbeaten 115 off 52 balls (23 fours) and his unbroken opening partnership of 175 runs with Ajay Kumar Reddy (51 not out) helped India beat Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in the first semi-fil of the T20 Cricket World Cup for the Blind here on Friday.

Opting to field first, India dismissed Sri Lanka for 174 in 19.2 overs. Sri Lanka tried to push the scoring run-rate through Suranga Sampath (49 off 37 balls) and Chanda Deshapriya (42 off 35 balls), but found it hard against a strong Indian bowling unit. Ranbir Panwar and Sunil were the home team's best bowlers, picking two wickets each and Ajay and Golu Kumar picked one wicket each.

India's outstanding fielding restricted Sri Lanka's score as they effected four run-outs in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the Lal Bahadur Stadium.

India then chased down the target in just 13 overs. India put up a superlative batting performance, as Sri Lankan bowlers found it difficult to contain the openers. They gave away only nine extras, but had little answer against the stroke play of Prakash and Ajay.

It was a big day, and India, the defending champions, brought out their A game forward to make an empathetic statement ahead of the fil.

India will now await the winner of the second semi-fil between Pakistan and England at the Alur Ground in Bengaluru on Sunday to know their opponents in the fil. IANS