Cricket for Blind: Railways triumph, Assam falter in chase against Jharkhand in nationals

Railways defeated Chhattisgarh by four wickets on Monday in the ongoing seventh edition of the Men's National T20 Cricket Tournament for the Blind 2024-25, also known as the Nagesh Trophy.

The IndusInd Bank Nagesh Trophy kicked off on November 10th 2024, with all four teams of Group F -- Chhattisgarh, Railways, Assam, and Jharkhand battling out for glory at the Sersa Stadium, Kharagpur, West Bengal. The tournament will be held from November 10, 2024 to February 20, 2025. The league stage will be played until December 27, 2024.

In the match on Monday, November 11, 2024, Chhattisgarh scored 190/7 in their 20 overs, but Railways chased it down with 191 in 19.2 overs, securing the win. Akshaya Verma and Mebin Anto smashed 66 and 46 runs respectively for Railways. Akshay Verma was adjudged the Player of the Match.

In the second game on the same day, Jharkhand scored 214/6 in the allotted 20 overs. But Assam lost to chase down the target and scored 105/9 in their allotted 20 overs. Sanjeev Kerketta from Jharkhand Team was named the Player of the Match for his gutsy knock of 58 runs.

The league matches of the seventh edition of the IndusInd Bank Nagesh Trophy will be played across six venues: Bengaluru (Karnataka), Kota (Rajasthan), Bhubaneshwar (Odisha), Hyderabad (Telangana), Ludhiana (Punjab), and Kharagpur (West Bengal).

Meanwhile, after the league matches end on December 27, 2024, the Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI), in association with the Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, will hold the Super 8 Stage Matches in February 2025.

A total of 28 teams, including 24 state and three union territory teams, as well as an Indian Railways team represented by visually impaired employees of the railways, will compete in this T20 format tournament.

The groups for the 7th edition are as follows:

Group A: Karnataka, Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Himachal Pradesh

Group B: Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Bihar, and Pondicherry

Group C: Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chandigarh, and Tripura

Group D: Gujarat, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, and Jammu & Kashmir

Group E: Goa, Manipur, Punjab, and West Bengal

Group F: Chhattisgarh, Railways, Assam, and Jharkhand

The Nagesh Trophy was launched in memory of Late Shri SP Nagesh, Founder President, of the Cricket Association for the Blind in India and Founder Trustee, of the Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled. The launch of the tournament brought together the entire blind cricket community into one huge platform, by creating a milestone in blind cricket history. 

Tags : Cricket, Blind, Railways, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Assam, T20