Indian Deaf Women's Cricket Team Wins 5/5 Matches Against SriLanka: International Debut
India's Deaf Women's Cricket Team created history by winning their first-ever international T20 series, defeating Sri Lanka 5-0.
India has created history in Deaf cricket. For the first time, an Indian Deaf Women's Cricket Team has played an international series and won it with a brilliant 5-0 clean sweep against Sri Lanka.
The five-match T20 series was played in Sri Lanka. In the final match on 13 July at the De Soysa International Cricket Stadium in Moratuwa, India bowled out Sri Lanka for just 40 runs and chased the target comfortably to win by 7 wickets.
A closing ceremony was held after the match. Sri Lanka's Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage and India's Deputy High Commissioner Maitrey Kulkarni attended the event. Kulkarni presented the trophies to the champion Indian team and the Sri Lankan runners-up.
India Deaf Cricket Association President Sumit Jain congratulated the team and said their performance showed that the Indian Deaf Women's Cricket Team is ready to compete strongly at the international level. He also thanked the Sri Lanka Deaf Cricket Association, the Sri Lankan government, sponsors, and everyone who helped organise the series.
Many players in the Indian team also work full-time jobs because they do not receive enough financial support to play cricket professionally.
Captain Kajal Dhawan said this was a proud moment as India had never before had an international Deaf Women's Cricket Team. Coach Devdutt said this was just the beginning and hoped the team would get more opportunities and recognition in the future.
The top award winners were:
- Player of the Final Match: Shradda Vaishnav (India)
- Best Bowler of the Series: Chandani Khan (India)
- Best Batter of the Series: Vice Captain Needa Zabi Shaikh (India)
- Player of the Series: Reddy Jyoshna (India)
Deaf cricket follows almost the same rules as regular cricket. Players do not use hearing aids or cochlear implants during matches, and international players must have a hearing loss of at least 55 decibels in their better ear. For the women's team, a slightly softer cricket ball is used instead of a hard ball.
