Bhubaneswar: Host India Deaf team emerged champion of the ADCA T20I Asia Cup, defeating Sri Lanka by six wickets at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Wednesday.
Being invited to bat first, Sri Lanka scored 144 for 7 in 20 overs with Gimadu L Malkam scoring maximum 62 runs. In reply, Virender Singh and Santosh K M scored 52 and 43 runs respectively and guided the host India to reach the winning target in 19.5 overs for the loss of four wickets.
The champion India won their very first match against Sri Lanka by 4 wickets, followed by a dominating 10-wicket win against Nepal in the second match.
Sai Akaash of India won player of the match award. Gimadu L Malkam of Sri Lanka team received the best batsman and player of the series awards and his teammate Gihan Lasidu D’ Silva, got the best bowler award.
In a grand closing ceremony post the final, the Chief Guests, Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde: District Magistrate and Collector, Cuttack gave away the prizes in presence of Sanjay Roul: ex-International Cricketer.
Speaking about the series, Sumit Jain, President, ADCA, said, “hosting the first edition of the ADCA T20I Asia Cup was a true privilege for us and reflects our continued commitment towards promoting cricket among the hearing-impaired athletes from across Asia. I congratulate all the participants who were part of this historic event, and we hope to continue hosting more of these international matches”.
Brief Score: Sri Lanka 144/7 in 20 overs: Gimadu L Malkam 62, Alanrose Kalep 22; Yashwanth Naidu 3/23 lost to India 145/4 in 19.5 overs: Virender Singh 52, Santosh K M 43, Sai Akash 27 by 6 wickets.
