Published: October 3, 2026 at 4:37 pm
India cruised to a 19-run win over Pakistan to defend their Asian Games gold medal in style at the Karogi Athletic Park, Nisshin, on Saturday.
Abhishek Sharma’s opening act and Tilak Varma’s closing flourish helped India beat their archrivals Pakistan in the final. The victory also saw India win both Asian Games 2026 cricket titles, men and women, to match the feat from Hangzhou 2023. The Indian women had defeated Sri Lanka in their gold medal match earlier.
Batting first, India put up 211 for 6 on the board thanks to Abhishek Sharma’s devastating 61 off 28 and Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 51 not out off 22 balls to finish the innings off. Hasan Nawaz’s fighting 96 kept Pakistan alive in the game till the final over but India eventually won the match by 19 runs.
Asian Games: India demolish Sri Lanka by 147 runs on way to retaining their gold medal
Till the 16th over there was not much to separate both the teams. But the 62-run partnership for the sixth wicket between Tilak and Shivam Dube tilted the balance as India were able to breach the 200-run mark.
Abhishek starts the assault, Tilak fine tunes it at the death
Shreyas Iyer won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi got India up and running with consecutive sixes off Saad Masood in the second over but threw his wicket away in the very next over, trying a slog reverse sweep off Saim Ayub only to nick it to the wicketkeeper.
Abhishek Sharma scored 61 off 28 balls to lay the platform for India’s big score against Pakistan in the final. Pics: BCCI
Abhishek then carried the momentum forward as India’s fifty came up in just 20 balls. Pakistan found some respite when Sanju Samson was dismissed for just two, attempting to clear Ahmed Daniyal for six.
However, Pakistan’s fielders handed India two reprieves in the fifth over, with both Abhishek and Shreyas dropped off Abrar Ahmed.
Daniyal also missed an easy run out chance on Abhishek off his own bowling, allowing the opener to reach his 13th T20I fifty in 19 balls as the Indian cricket team piled up 81/2 in the powerplay.
Abhishek continued to play his shots and ride his luck until it finally ran out and he was stumped off Arafat Minhas after scoring 61 off 28.
Shreyas and Ishan Kishan, who scored a superb 80 against Sri Lanka in the semifinals, looked to consolidate the innings but the Pakistani spinners managed to dry up the runs.
The pressure to get the scoring rate back up told on both batters as Ishan Kishan (20 off 18 balls) and Shreyas Iyer (21 off 24 balls) departed in successive overs, leaving the Indian team at 133 for 5.
Tilak Varma unleashed an extraordinary final assault, scoring an unbeaten 51 off 22 at the death
The period of play also saw the Pakistani bowlers deny a single boundary to Indian batters for almost six overs. The respite, though, was just temporary.
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Hyderabad batter Tilak Varma unleashed an extraordinary final assault, scoring an unbeaten 51 off 22, and was well-supported by Shivam Dube (27 off 15 balls) to take India past 200.
Hasan keeps Pak in the hunt but India bowlers excel
Pakistan made a measured start, but lost three wickets within a span of four overs and six runs to be reduced to 39 for 3. Washington Sundar drew first blood, removing Pakistan skipper Sahibzada Farhan in the fourth over before Axar Patel struck in successive overs to get rid of Usman Khan and Maaz Sadaqat.
Hasan Nawaz and Saim Ayub counterattacked. Nawaz led the way, completing his fifty in 28 balls. The partnership was worth 89 runs before Dube finally broke the stand, forcing Ayub to loft one straight to Sundar at the deep.
Nawaz, though, continued to find boundaries and kept Pakistan hopes alive. Sundar came in to bowl the 18th over and got rid of Abdul Samad to strengthen India’s position in the contest.
Washington Sundar took two for 29 as the Indian bowlers choked the Pakistan batters at the death
With 44 needed from the final two overs, Pakistan had no choice but to throw the kitchen sink at it. Bumrah conceded just 10 off the 19th, leaving Dube with 32 to defend off the final over.
Dube conceded just 13 and dismissed Nawaz for 96 off the final ball to seal the victory. The win extended India’s head-to-head lead against Pakistan to 15-3.
Brief scores: India 211/6 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 61, Tilak Varma 51 not out, Shivam Dube 27, Shreyas Iyer 21, Ishan Kishan 20; Arafat Minhas 2/25, Ahmed Daniyal 2/43) beat Pakistan 192/6 in 20 overs (Hasan Nawaz 96, Saim Ayub 29, Maaz Sadaqat 23; Axar Patel 2/29, Washington Sundar 2/29, Shivam Dube 2/33).
