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KARACHI, Feb 22: Pakistan went 2-0 up in the five-match blind cricket series after Indian opener Rajendra Verma carried his bat to score 138 in the one-day fixture at the National Stadium on Sunday.
The left-handed Verma, who is totally blind, hit four boundaries in his 129-ball knock that was the cornerstone of India's total of 348 for five in 39 overs after Pakistan captain Aamir Ashfaq won the toss and opted to field first.
Aamir then guided his side to victory with 20 balls to spare, by finishing on 40 as Pakistan reached 350 for six on a sultry late afternoon. India, who went down by seven wickets in the opening one-day match at Lahore on Friday, started their innings on a bright note with Verma and Shekhar Naik (60, seven fours) putting on 116 for the first wicket.
Pakistan also launched their reply in style with the opening pair of Mohammad Fayyaz and Muzaffar Ali sharing a stand of 129. Fayyaz, who scored an unbeaten 148 on Friday, was stumped by Indian captain Manvender Singh for a 36-ball 51 that included six fours.
Muzaffar, who laced his 77-ball knock of 87 with five fours, then found another useful partner in the totally blind Mohammad Nawaz during the second-wicket partnership of 81. Nawaz struck 50 off 28 balls with the aid of two hits to the fence.
Verma was adjudicated man-of-the-match for his fine innings. The teams meet again at the same venue on Tuesday.
Scoreboard
INDIA BLIND XI:
Rajendra Verma not out 138
Shekhar Naik run out 60
Manvender Singh run out 17
Ashish Nagi b Shahbaz 10
Vishal Kumar run out 38
Inder Singh lbw b Muzaffar 2
Amardeep Singh not out 21
EXTRAS (B-1, LB-1, W-51, NB-9) 62
TOTAL (for five wkts, 39 overs) 348
FALL OF WKTS: 1-116, 2-156, 3-192, 4-281, 5-285.
DID NOT BAT: Rajesh Singh, Pushpa Raj, Nanaji, Nirmal Kumar.
BOWLING: Mohammad Waqas 8-0-65-0 (4nb, 10w); Mohammad Shahbaz 7-0-55-1 (15w); Sultan Shah 8-1-80-0 (2nb, 14w); Abdul Razzaq 6-0-53-0 (4w); Aamir Ashfaq 8-1-77-0 (3nb, 3w); Muzaffar Ali 2-0-16-1 (5w).
PAKISTAN BLIND XI:
M. Fayyaz st Mavender b Amardeep 51
Muzaffar Ali run out 87
Mohammad Nawaz run out 30
Masood Jan run out 12
Sultan Shah run out 10
Aamir Ashfaq not out 40
Tariq Samuel run out 16
Mohammad Shahbaz not out 22
EXTRAS (B-2, LB-2, W-42, NB-16) 62
TOTAL (for six wkts, 35.4 overs) 350
FALL OF WKTS: 1-129, 2-210, 3-236, 4-247, 5-266, 6-312.
DID NOT BAT: Shariq Yasin, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Waqas.
BOWLING: Nanaji 6-0-75-0 (4nb, 8w); Rajesh Singh 8-0-75-0 (5nb, 5w); Rajendra Verma 8-0-63-0 (6w); Amardeep Singh 6-0-52-1 (3nb, 10w); Shekhar Naik 4-0-42-0 (2nb, 6w); Ashish Nagi 2-0-21-0 (3nb, 10w); Vishal Kumar 1-0-14-0 (1nb, 4w); Nirmal Kumar 0.4-0-4-0.
RESULT: Pakistan Blind XI won by four wickets.
UMPIRES: Feroz Butt and Khalid Mahmood Sr.
MATCH REFEREE: Munawwar Agha.
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Rajendra Verma.
