- India secured Asian Games cricket gold medal.
- Sharma and Varma powered India to 211/6 total.
- Hasan Nawaz’s 96 led Pakistan’s 192/6, falling short.
- Key wickets from Axar, Sundar, Dube secured India’s win.
IND vs PAK Asian Games 2026 Final Highlights: India retained the men’s cricket gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after defeating Pakistan by 19 runs in a high-scoring final at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin on Saturday. Shreyas Iyer’s side posted 211/6 after opting to bat first, before Pakistan managed 192/6 in their 20 overs. Abhishek Sharma’s explosive 61 off 28 balls and Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 51 off 22 deliveries gave India the platform for a challenging total, while Hasan Nawaz’s sensational 96 off 51 kept Pakistan in contention until the closing stages.
Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma Power India To 211
India won the toss and captain Shreyas Iyer chose to bat first in the gold-medal clash. The defending champions made an aggressive start through Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma.
Sooryavanshi smashed two sixes in his 15 off nine balls before Saim Ayub removed him in the third over. Abhishek then took control, attacking Pakistan’s bowlers and reaching his half-century from just 20 deliveries.
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The India opener eventually fell for 61 from 28 balls, with three fours and seven sixes. His strike rate of 217.86 gave India significant momentum during the powerplay.
India reached 81/2 at the end of six overs, but Pakistan’s bowlers fought back through the middle phase. Sanju Samson was dismissed for two, while Ishan Kishan made 20 before Arafat Minhas struck again.
Shreyas Iyer contributed 21 from 24 balls, but India needed another acceleration to finish strongly. That arrived through Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube.
Tilak remained unbeaten on 51 from just 22 balls, hitting three fours and four sixes. Dube added 27 from 15 deliveries, with the pair putting together a 62-run stand for the sixth wicket.
India finished on 211/6 from their 20 overs, setting Pakistan a target of 212. The total was India’s highest first-innings score against Pakistan in T20 cricket, according to match reporting.
Hasan Nawaz Keeps Pakistan Alive In Gold-Medal Chase
Pakistan needed a fast start but lost Sahibzada Farhan for 10 and Maaz Sadaqat for 23 before Usman Khan departed for three.
That left Pakistan under pressure early in the chase, but Hasan Nawaz launched an extraordinary counterattack. The right-hander kept Pakistan within touching distance with a remarkable 96 from 51 balls.
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Nawaz struck five fours and seven sixes during his innings and repeatedly found the boundary when India appeared to be pulling away.
Saim Ayub supported him with 29 from 22 balls, but Shivam Dube eventually removed the left-hander before returning to dismiss Nawaz for 96.
Nawaz’s dismissal at 177/5 left Pakistan needing 35 runs from the final 10 deliveries. Abdul Samad was then dismissed for nine, leaving Saad Masood to try to finish the chase.
Pakistan ended their 20 overs on 192/6, falling 19 runs short of India’s total.
Axar Patel, Washington Sundar And Shivam Dube Deliver
India’s bowling attack had several important contributions during the Pakistan chase. Axar Patel and Washington Sundar both finished with two wickets.
Axar conceded 29 runs from his four overs, while Washington also returned 2/29. Their combined eight overs produced four wickets for 58 runs and helped India regain control after Pakistan’s early aggression.
Dube also played a decisive role. After contributing 27 runs with the bat, he claimed 2/33 from three overs, including the wickets of Saim Ayub and Hasan Nawaz.
Jasprit Bumrah completed his four-over spell for 33 runs without a wicket, while Ravi Bishnoi conceded 44 runs from three overs.
Pakistan’s 192/6 meant India had successfully defended their 211 and secured another Asian Games cricket gold medal.
India Retain Asian Games Cricket Gold
The victory gave India back-to-back men’s cricket gold medals at the Asian Games. India had won the title in 2023 after their rain-affected final against Afghanistan was abandoned, with the higher-ranked side taking gold.
This time, however, India and Pakistan completed a full 20-over final, producing one of the tournament’s most closely contested matches.
Abhishek’s powerplay assault, Tilak’s late hitting and India’s four-wicket contribution from Axar and Washington proved decisive. Pakistan’s chase remained alive largely because of Hasan Nawaz, but his dismissal four runs short of a century ended their hopes of completing a record chase.
India’s 19-run victory therefore sealed the gold medal in Nisshin, with Pakistan taking silver and the final bringing the men’s Asian Games cricket tournament to a dramatic conclusion.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: abplive.com
