Pakistan defeat India, claim Wheelchair Asia Cup

Kathmandu, May 18

Pakistan defeated India by five wickets in the final of the Wheelchair Asia Cup T20 here at the Tribhuvan University Stadium today.

Batting first, India posted 210-2 in their allotted 20 overs before Pakistan reached 211-5 with three balls to spare.

India and Pakistan had made it to the final of the four-nation tournament as group winners and runnersup respectively after the league round.

Other two teams, Nepal and Bangladesh were eliminated from the group stage of the tournament. While Bangladesh earned a win, Nepal lost all three matches.

On Saturday, opener Saurabh Malik scored a brilliant century for India hitting 19 fours and a six in his 62-ball 104 not out. Nikul Prajapati remained unbeaten on 63 off just 33 balls hitting 12 boundaries. Vishwanath Gaurav scored 23 off 17 balls that included three fours.

Syed Arsalan Ahmed and Adnan Nisar took one wicket each for Pakistan.

In reply, Muhammad Latif led the team to victory with an unbeaten century. Latif scored an unbeaten 156 off just 68 balls that included 27 boundaries and five sixes and that also earned him the man-of-the-match award.

Muhammad Fiaz and Syed Arsalan Ahmed contributed 15 runs each. Saurabh Malik took two wickets for India, while Parashuram Desale and Vishwanath Gurav grabbed one each.

Champions Pakistan received Rs 60,000 along with the trophy, medals and certificates, while runners-up India got Rs 30,000. Pakistan’s Muhammad Latif bagged two individual awards — player of the series and the best batsman — and he earned Rs 8,500 in total. Indian duo Saurabh Malik and Laxman Birhade were named the best bowler and fielder respectively and they received Rs 3,500 each.