India clinches gold with 19-run win over Pakistan. India won the men’s cricket gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games on Sunday after in a high-scoring T20 final at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan. India defended the Asian Games cricket title following their gold-medal triumph in Hangzhou.
After electing to bat first, India rattled up a challenging total of 211/6 in their allotted quota of 20 overs. Pakistan managed 192/6 in response despite a superb 96 from Hasan Nawaz. India’s bowlers held their nerve at the end to seal a win.
India started their innings quickly, with Abhishek Sharma asserting his dominance on the Pakistan bowlers. The southpaw managed a score of 61 in just 28 balls with the help of seven maximums and three fours.
India were off to very fast start reaching 50 in just 3.2 overs which put Pakistan on backfoot straightaway. Abhishek continued to hammer the shorter balls as he completed his half century off just 20 deliveries.
His explosive knock set up India for a big total. Though he finally fell, being bowled by Arafat Minhas, having made a sizeable impact on the match already.
With Pakistan managing to take wickets at crucial junctures, Sooryavanshi was supported well by Vaibhav early on in the innings before their partnership worth 77 runs during the powerplay.
Pakistan slowed things down with their lengths after a blistering start by India. Pakistan applied enough pressure on India’s middle order as there was a dry run of 34 delivery without a boundary.
However, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan stitched together a small partnership but neither batter provided the big score Pakistan required. While Iyer got 21, Kishan mustered 20.
India’s run rate was low for a phase. Pakistan looked to have weathered the initial storm and were aiming to bowl India out for less than 200.
India was missing that late acceleration and Tilak Varma provided it. In the 17th over he ended a drought of boundaries and again swung momentum in favour of India.
Shivam Dube accompanied and tore apart the Pakistan bowlers with his big hits. 23 runs were scored in the 19th over as India looked set to go past the 200-run mark.
Dube fell for 27 off 15 eventually but Tilak kept attacking. Two sixes from him in the final over and a 51 not out off of just 22.
India finished up on 211/6, a more-than-decent target for the bowlers to work with thanks to Tilak’s finishing touch.
Pakistan were chasing 212 runs for the gold medal, but their start was far from ideal.
Early on, India applied the pressure as Axar Patel and Washington Sundar were key performers through the powerplay phase. This left Pakistan reeling at 39/2.
Axar was just not ready to let the Pakistan batters off the hook and took one more wicket. Washington also snared Maaz Sadaqat as he released a self-caught effort.
Pakistan really needed a big partnership to get back in the contest as the asking rate kept climbing.
Pakistan Inspector Hasan Nawaz emerged as the main man of Pakistan’s pursuit. He took on the Indians and added a useful partnership with Saim Ayub.
They added 87 runs to revive Pakistan’s chances. Nawaz on his half-century after which continues to hit borders as India still finding it hard to take total control of the middle overs.
India got an important breakthrough with Shivam Dube dismissing the dangerous Saim Ayub who scored 29.
Wickets continued to tumble around him but Nawaz stood firm. But with Pakistan needing too many runs from the last few overs, the pressure finally turned out to be unbearable.
Nawaz had an remarkable score of 96 runs off 51 balls falling short of his hundred. But to take Pakistan across the line his innings was not enough.
India however must have been feeling that the match was still in Pakistan’s grasp with 68 needed off last four overs and defensive bowling was what they were looking for to close out the match.
Washington Sundar (2 for 23) bowled a priceless 18th over, getting rid of Abdul Samad and yielding just eight in addition to a six off the last ball. That over put Pakistan under immense pressure.
In the penultimate over then, you felt like Jasprit Bumrahbowled for the Indian team. His yorkers were on point, and even though he bowled an expensive six, Pakistan couldn’t get the requisite runs.
This left Shivam Dube to bowl the last over. Pakistan had a target of 33 runs, which made it very challenging.
Ultimately, Dube bowled the telling delivery and Hasan Nawaz was out to the last ball of the innings. That left Pakistan at 192/6, losing by 19 runs to India in October 2023.
India’s all-round performance during the final of 2026 was also great. Abhishek Sharma gave the start, Tilak Varma flamboyantly finished it and Shivam Dube did his true all rounder thing with bat and ball.
Axar Patel and Washington Sundar took two wickets each with the ball while Dube also picked up a couple of second ten balls. Together they stopped Pakistan from pulling off an incredible chase.
Final Score
India: 211/6 in 20 overs
Pakistan: 192/6 in 20 overs
Result: India won by 19 runs
Venue: Korogi Sports Park, Nisshin, Japan
Tournament: Asian Games 2026
Medal: India – Gold, Pakistan – Silver
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