Surat: A Valsad farmer's son Ganesh Muhudkar (29) did India proud by scoring a breezy 112 of 69 balls in the semifinals of 5th Blind Cricket One Day World Cup being played at Ajman, United Arab Emirates. India beat Bangladesh by seven wickets to set up final clash with Pakistan on January 20.
Choosing to bat after winning the toss, Bangladesh scored 256, but managed to last only 38.5 overs. For Bangladesh, an unbeaten 108 by Abdul Mallik was the highlight of the innings, whereas for India, Durga Rao bagged three wickets in three overs and gave only 20 runs. Deepak Mallik and Prakash bagged two wickets each for India.
Chasing 260 for the victory, Man of the Match Ganesh Muhudkar's century steered India home comfortably. His knock of 112 came in just 69 balls. Another star player Deepak Mallik was retired out for 53 of 43 balls. While Naresh made a handy 40 runs in 18 balls.
Defending champions India till now has not lost a single match in the tournament and are considered favourite for the title again. Final will be played at Sharjah.
Indian blind cricketer's team is called the other team in blue in UAE and is favourite among the locals. Besides Muhudkar, the team has two Valsad district players, including Anil Garia and Naresh.
Muhudkar hails from a family of farmers from Ugta village, located 7km from Umragam town in Valsad. He is an all-rounder and is called B2 grade player. He suffered an injury to eye at an age of four and joined blind school in 2000 and started playing blind cricket. He is playing for the national team since 2014.
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