Akram spurs Pakistan

 Mohammad Akram scored a stunning double ton to spur Pakistan to a resounding 200-run win over a hapless West Indies in the T20 World Cup for the Blind at the Central College ground here on Tuesday.

Akram, who lost partial vision due to typhoid in 2002, struck 49 boundaries and five sixes to finish on 264 runs from 85 deliveries to help Pakistan score 366 for five in 20 overs. West Indies, who were impressive on the field, could not come remotely close to the daunting target and ended their innings on 166 for eight.

Akram, whose hundred came off 35 balls -- one delivery more than Indian Ajay Kumar Reddy’s record set on Monday --  and two hundred came off 66 balls, became the holder of the record for the highest number of runs by an individual in all formats of blind cricket. The previous best of 262 was set by Pakistan’s Masood Jan in 1998.

“It was hard in the beginning but it became easier as the innings progressed,” said an elated Akram. “After a point, I just wanted to make a record. Couldn’t break the fastest-century record so went for the highest score. But I am not done, I am aiming to score a 300 one of these days.”

In other matches, Sri Lanka posted a narrow one-run win over Australia, while South Africa eased past Nepal by 186 runs. The match between Bangladesh and England was washed out.

Brief scores: Pakistan: 366/5 in 20 overs (Mohammad Akram 264, Mohammad Jaffer 50; Jason Ricketts 3-37) bt West Indies: 166/8 in 20 overs (Lo-Shane Myles 48, Jason Ricketts 28; Zeshan Abbasi 3-35); Sri Lanka: 234/3 in 20 overs (Chandana Deshapriya 129, Saman Kumara 44, Chandana Kumara 35; Matt McCarthy 2-21) bt Australia: 233/5 in 20 overs (Lindsay Heaven 104, Mathew Horsey 73); South Africa: 304/2 in 20 overs (Sonwabile 128, Desigan Pillay 104) bt Nepal: 118/4 in 20 overs.