Dubai: India beat Pakistan by 19 runs to successfully defend their Asian Games men’s cricket gold medal and claim their second consecutive title in the competition at the Korogi Sports Park, Nisshin, Japan.
India, who won gold at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, entered the final as defending champions, while Pakistan were playing their first-ever men’s cricket gold-medal match at the Asian Games and were targeting their maiden gold. The final was also the first meeting between the two teams in the Asian Games.
After winning the toss, India opted to bat first and posted 211/6 in their 20 overs. Abhishek Sharma provided India with a flying start, smashing 61 from just 28 balls. His seven sixes put him joint-top for the most sixes by an Indian batter in an India-Pakistan T20I innings alongside Yuvraj Singh.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi contributed 15 from nine deliveries before being dismissed, while Tilak Varma produced a late assault to remain unbeaten on 51. India added 69 runs in the final four overs to set Pakistan a target of 212.
Pakistan began their chase with a 33-run partnership between Maaz Sadaqat and captain Sahibzada Farhan before Washington Sundar took the latter’s wicket. As wickets continue to fall, Hasan Nawaz led the Men in Green by putting up a strong fight.
He scored 96 while smashing five fours and seven sixes in 51 deliveries. Nawaz also held an 87-run partnership with Saim Ayub.
Nevertheless, India’s bowling attack remained consistent with Axal Patel, Shivam Dube and Sundar taking two wickets each. Ravi Bishnoi was the only bowler who struggled as he conceded 44 runs in three overs.
An interesting feature of the final was the composition of both bowling attacks. India fielded only one specialist fast bowler in Jasprit Bumrah along with seamer Dube, while Patel, Sundar and Bishnoi provided spin options. Pakistan also had Ahmed Daniyal as their only specialist pace option, while Sufiyan Muqeem and Abrar Ahmed led their spin attack.
The victory gives India their 81st medal and 19th gold medal of the 2026 Asian Games. It is also their second cricket gold of the Games after the women’s team successfully defended its title earlier in the tournament. Meanwhile Pakistan gets its second silver medal at the ongoing Games, which takes its total tally to 8 medals.
