India beat Pakistan by 19 runs in Nagoya, Japan, on Saturday, claiming the Asian Games men’s cricket gold medal. The players again skipped the customary handshakes, both before and after the match. It marked the fifth consecutive men’s game between the rivals without a handshake.
The defending champion kept its title with 211-6, its highest-ever T20 total against Pakistan, then restricted Pakistan to 192-6. India has now won seven straight T20 matches against its neighbor.
The Match
Abhishek Sharma smashed 61 off 28 balls, with seven sixes and three fours. He reached his half-century in 20 balls. Tilak Varma contributed 51 not out, while Shivam Dube scored 27. In the final three overs, Dube and Varma put on 57 runs against Sufyan Moqim, Saim Ayub and Ahmed Daniyal.
Pakistan made its task harder. Sharma got dropped twice and should have been run out before his half-century. India captain Shreyas Iyer also escaped when Ayub missed a catch. Pakistan turned to part-timer Saad Masood for the second over, and Sharma hit three sixes and a boundary. That made 24 runs.
Hasan Nawaz kept Pakistan in the contest with 96 off 51 balls, including seven sixes and five fours. He fell caught behind off the final ball. Jasprit Bumrah’s yorkers had reduced Pakistan to 39-3 in the seventh over. Spinners Axar Patel (2-29) and Washington Sundar (2-29) took four wickets between them, while Dube claimed 2-33, including Nawaz.
One moment stood out for a reason beyond the scoreboard. Fifteen-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made 15 before attempting a reverse sweep against Ayub. Ayub then mocked the teenager with a “baby in the cradle” gesture.
A Pattern of Refusals
Iyer didn’t shake hands with Pakistan skipper Sahibzada Farhan at the toss. ICC chairman Jay Shah attended the final. After the match, neither team shook hands.
This pattern has continued for some time. Cross-border tensions brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war last year, and the acrimony spilled onto the cricket field. Indian cricketers have avoided handshakes with Pakistan players and refused to accept trophies and medals from Pakistani officials at more than one tournament.
India’s men beat Pakistan three times in the Asia Cup, final included. Suryakumar Yadav’s team refused to accept the trophy from Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi and didn’t shake hands in any of the three games. The Indian women’s team also skipped the handshake at a continental championship match. When it won the women’s Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates, it refused to take the trophy from Naqvi.
Where Sport Still Bridged the Divide
Other Asian Games events offered a different picture. After India beat Pakistan in the hockey semifinal, players from both countries embraced and shook hands. The contrast shows the cricket standoff isn’t a rule for every sport at these Games.
Why This Matters: Cricket is one of the few places where India and Pakistan regularly meet under shared rules. At the Asian Games, the latest meeting ended in silence. The hockey semifinal shows that handshakes and embraces remain possible between athletes from the two countries. The cricket standoff has now extended to trophy ceremonies, where Indian teams have refused prizes from a Pakistani official. That leaves tournament officials, including the ICC, managing the fallout. For a 15-year-old batter dismissed on a major stage and then mocked by an opponent, the match also raised a basic question about the respect players owe each other in international competition.