India beat Pakistan by 19 runs in the Asian Games men’s cricket final on Saturday, winning the gold medal at Korogi Park Athletic Stadium in Nisshin, Japan, after a blazing 96 from Pakistan’s Hasan Nawaz fell agonisingly short of a 212-run target.
Batting first after winning the toss, India posted 211 for 6 in their 20 overs. The innings got off to a flying start when 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi struck back-to-back sixes before falling for 15, and Abhishek Sharma built on that platform with a quickfire 61 off 28 balls, surviving two dropped catches and a tight run-out call along the way, according to Al Jazeera. India accelerated in the back half as Tilak Varma (51* off 22) and Shivam Dube (27 off 15) put on 62 runs in five overs for the sixth wicket to push the total beyond 200.
Pakistan’s chase never quite got away, but Hasan Nawaz made sure it went down to the wire. The right-hander smashed 96 off just 51 balls, including seven sixes and five fours, and at one stage Pakistan needed 52 runs off the final three overs. Nawaz holed out attempting another big hit off the very last delivery, with Pakistan finishing on 192 for 6 — 19 runs adrift. Saim Ayub was the only other Pakistan batter to pass twenty, with 29 off 22 balls.
| Team | Score | Overs | Top Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | 211/6 | 20 | Abhishek Sharma 61 (28), Tilak Varma 51* (22) |
| Pakistan | 192/6 | 20 | Hasan Nawaz 96 (51), Saim Ayub 29 (22) |
Result: India won by 19 runs | Venue: Korogi Park Athletic Stadium, Nisshin, Japan
As has become routine whenever the two sides meet, the match carried its now-familiar off-field subplot: the two captains did not shake hands before the toss, continuing a pattern seen at last year’s Asia Cup final and in several India-Pakistan meetings since, 24NewsHD reported. The teams, who only play each other at neutral multilateral events because of the political freeze in bilateral cricket ties, went through the formalities of the toss without the customary handshake.
The result hands Pakistan the silver medal in the sport’s return to the Asian Games, a solid showing for a squad that had to come through a rain-affected run through the knockouts to reach the final. Sri Lanka took bronze, beating Bangladesh by 63 runs in the playoff for third place.
Our Opinion
A fiercely contested final decided by 19 runs deserved to be remembered for Hasan Nawaz’s innings and India’s late-overs power-hitting, not for a missed handshake; that the gesture keeps recurring, tournament after tournament, says less about any individual player than about how little room off-field diplomacy has left for even the most basic on-field courtesies between the two sides. Event organisers like the Olympic Council of Asia and the International Cricket Council could spare both camps the pre-match guessing game by setting a clear, standard protocol for neutral-venue fixtures rather than leaving it to players to navigate on the day.
