The Hindu : Sekhar is Karnataka's `Nayak'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 15, 2002

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Sport - Cricket

Sekhar is Karnataka's `Nayak'
By Our Sports Correspondent

The Karnataka team which regained the HSBC National cricket championship for the blind in Chennai on Thursday.

CHENNAI, FEB. 14. The four days of `celebration' finally ended. The `celebration' of human spirit, that desire to achieve the `impossible.'

Watching these visually challenged boys throwing themselves on the field was also a humbling experience for us, the normally sighted.

Fittingly, the HSBC National cricket championship for the blind concluded with a remarkable performance, the 15-year- old Sekhar Nayak making a match-winning 161 as Karnataka successfully chased Delhi's 291 to win by three wickets in the final at the SPIC-YMCA ground, here, on Thursday.

`Hip Hip Hooray' the Karnataka boys chanted in unison after their team had regained the trophy following seven long years, yet this was a tournament where every single player was a winner and a hero. Let's salute their commitment.

Holder Delhi, electing to bat, made 291 for nine in 40 overs, the best phase of the innings coming when captain Ramkaran Sharma (65, 74b, 3x4) and Pratap Bisht (39) raised 177 for the opening wicket. Among the other Delhi batsmen, Sunil Kadyan remained unbeaten with 40, while Manjunath claimed three wickets for Karnataka.

Then the little Nayak, a class VII standard student from Shimoga, took over. ``We had lost to Delhi on the last four occasions and I was determined to do well this time. I want to thank my coach N. Suresh for this performance,'' said Nayak, the Man of the Match.

The opener struck 13 fours in his 138-ball knock - it was also the first century of this edition - before being run-out in the closing stages. However, by then, Delhi had lost far too much ground to stage a comeback and Karnataka was home and dry with eleven deliveries remaining.

Mr. Prakash Kuruvilla, senior manager, south zone, HSBC, Mr. Ashok Kumbhat, secretary, Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, Mr. Badri Seshadri, managing director, CricInfo, and Col. Pradeep Kapoor, CEO, Association for Cricket for the Blind in India, spoke during the prize distribution ceremony. Col. Kapoor said the World Cup for the blind would be held in Chennai during December this year.

The Man of the Series Awards are as follows: Blind: Pratap Singh Bisht (Delhi); Partially blind: N. Mahesh (Karnataka); Partially sighted: Sekhar Nayak (Karnataka).

The scores: Delhi 291 for nine in 40 overs (Ramkaran Sharma 65, Pratap Singh Bisht 39, Sanjay Kadyan 40 not out, Manjunath three for 33) lost to Karnataka 292 for seven in 38.1 overs (Sekhar Nayak 161).

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