NISSHIN, Japan, October 3, 2026: India defeated Pakistan by 19 runs in the Asian Games men’s cricket final on Saturday to win the gold medal.
India posted 211 for six after batting first at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin. Pakistan finished its chase at 192 for six after 20 overs.
The result gave India another Asian Games cricket gold. It also completed a gold-medal double after the Indian women’s team won the women’s competition earlier in the Games.
India Set Pakistan a Challenging Target
India won the toss and chose to bat first.
Abhishek Sharma led the scoring with a powerful 61 from 28 balls. Tilak Varma then provided a late surge with an unbeaten 51 from 22 balls.
Their contributions helped India post the highest total of the tournament, reaching 211 for six from 20 overs.
Pakistan needed 212 runs to win its first men’s Asian Games cricket gold.
Hasan Nawaz Leads Pakistan’s Chase
Pakistan made a strong attempt to chase the target.
Hasan Nawaz produced the standout performance with the bat. He scored 96 runs and kept Pakistan in contention deep into the innings.
Pakistan, however, could not maintain the required scoring rate during the closing overs.
India’s bowlers restricted the chase and finished the match with a 19-run victory. Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel played important roles in controlling Pakistan’s scoring.
First Men’s Asian Games Meeting
The final marked the first meeting between India and Pakistan in men’s cricket at the Asian Games.
Pakistan reached the final after defeating Bangladesh by six wickets in a rain-shortened semi-final.
India secured its place in the final with a 124-run victory over Sri Lanka.
Both teams had also advanced directly to the semi-finals after their quarter-finals were abandoned because of rain. India and Pakistan progressed as the higher-seeded teams.
Pakistan XI
Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Maaz Sadaqat, Saim Ayub, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Hasan Nawaz, Abdul Samad, Arafat Minhas, Ahmed Daniyal, Saad Masood, Sufyan Moqim and Abrar Ahmed.
India XI
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer (captain), Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi and Jasprit Bumrah.
