India beat Pakistan by 19 runs on Saturday, Oct. 3, retaining the men’s cricket gold medal at the Asian Games in Japan. India scored 211-6, then restricted Pakistan to 192-6. Tilak Varma finished unbeaten on 51 from 21 balls. Hasan Nawaz made 96 from 51 before falling on the final ball.
The Score and the Batting
India chose to bat after winning the toss on a used wicket at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin. The same surface had hosted the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh bronze-medal match, and India’s total became its highest-ever T20 score against Pakistan.
Abhishek Sharma hit 61 from 28 balls, reaching his half-century in 20 balls with seven sixes and three fours. Usman Khan stumped him off Arafat Minhas. Varma’s unbeaten innings included 15 runs from Ahmed Daniyal’s final four balls.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, aged 15, became the youngest Indian to win an Asian Games gold medal, according to the live coverage. He scored 15 from nine balls before Saim Ayub had wicketkeeper Usman Khan catch him. After the dismissal, Ayub made a rocking-baby gesture.
India lost Sanju Samson for two, caught by Arafat Minhas off Ahmed Daniyal. Shreyas Iyer scored 21 from 24 balls before Sahibzada Farhan caught him off Abrar Ahmed. Ishan Kishan made 20 from 18 balls, then Arafat Minhas bowled him. Shivam Dube scored 27 from 15 balls before Maaz Sadaqat caught him off Ahmed Daniyal.
Saad Masood, making his debut, conceded 24 runs in his first over. It featured three sixes by Sooryavanshi and Abhishek, a no-ball, and a Sooryavanshi four off the free hit.
Pakistan’s Chase
Nawaz led Pakistan’s reply with 96, hitting seven sixes and five fours. Dube took his wicket on the final ball. India’s bowlers held Pakistan to 192-6.
Washington Sundar had Farhan caught by Axar Patel after Farhan scored 10 from 11 balls. Patel also dismissed Usman Khan, who made three from six, and Sadaqat, who scored 23 from 18. Washington Sundar took an athletic boundary catch, with a relay, to dismiss Sadaqat.
Saim Ayub made 29 from 22 balls before Washington Sundar caught him off Dube. Abdul Samad scored nine from nine balls before Tilak Varma caught him off Washington Sundar. Saad Masood joined Nawaz late in the innings, and the live report recorded him hitting a six in the 19th over. Axar Patel and Washington Sundar each took two wickets. Dube also took two.
The Rivalry Around the Final
India completed the men’s and women’s cricket gold double, its second such double at these Games after kabaddi. India’s seventh straight T20 win over Pakistan extended a run of five consecutive men’s games between the rivals without handshakes, before or after play.
Shreyas Iyer didn’t shake hands with Pakistan captain Sahibzada Farhan at the toss, and the teams didn’t shake hands after the match. The AP report noted that players from India and Pakistan had embraced and shaken hands after India beat Pakistan in a hockey semifinal at the Games.
The report also described cross-border tensions that brought the countries to the brink of war last year. Indian cricketers had avoided handshakes with Pakistan players and declined to accept trophies and medals from Pakistani officials at other tournaments. In the 2026 Asia Cup, India’s men beat Pakistan three times, including in the final, and didn’t shake hands in any of the three games; they also refused the trophy from Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi. India’s women likewise didn’t shake hands with Pakistan at a continental championship match and declined to accept the women’s Asia Cup trophy from Naqvi in the United Arab Emirates.
Five members of India’s 2023 squad—Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi and Tilak Varma—were on the 2026 team. India had won the Hangzhou gold after its final against Afghanistan was washed out, with the higher-seeded team awarded the title. A rain-affected final in 2026 would instead have resulted in both teams sharing gold. The final’s presentation formalities remained an open question in the live coverage.