India beat Pakistan by 19 runs in Nagoya, Japan, on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, winning the Asian Games men’s cricket gold medal and retaining the title. The teams didn’t shake hands before or after the match, continuing a pattern seen in other meetings between the rivals.
India posted 211-6, its highest-ever T20 total against Pakistan, then held Pakistan to 192-6. Abhishek Sharma scored 61, and Tilak Varma made 51 not out. Pakistan’s Hasan Nawaz struck 96 off 51 balls, but a catch behind ended his innings on the final delivery.
The match on the field
Sharma reached a half-century in 20 balls. He hit seven sixes and three fours before Pakistan stumped him after 28 balls. Pakistan dropped Sharma twice, and he should have been run out before reaching his half-century. Pakistan captain Shreyas Iyer also got a life when Saim Ayub missed a catch.
Fifteen-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made 15 before trying to reverse sweep Ayub. Wicketkeeper Usman Khan bobbled the catch twice, then completed it. Ayub mocked Sooryavanshi with a “baby in the cradle” gesture.
Pakistan used five specialized bowlers, along with Ayub’s offspin, but brought in part-timer Saad Masood in the second over. Sharma hit three sixes and a boundary in the over, which cost 24 runs. Pakistan’s fielding errors gave Sharma and Iyer more chances to score.
Spinner Arafat Minhas took 2-25, and Abrar Ahmed took 1-29 as Pakistan fought back in the middle overs. Varma and Shivam Dube, who scored 27, added 57 runs in the final three overs against Sufyan Moqim, Ayub and Ahmed Daniyal. Varma holed out in the outfield in Ahmed’s final over, but completed his 21-ball half-century by hitting 15 runs off the fast bowler’s last four balls.
Pakistan fell behind in the powerplay against Jasprit Bumrah’s yorkers. Maaz Sadaqat was caught by Washington Sundar at deep fine leg after Sundar juggled the catch, leaving Pakistan at 39-3 in the seventh over. Nawaz kept Pakistan in contention with seven sixes and five fours. Axar Patel took 2-29, Sundar took 2-29, and Dube took 2-33, including Nawaz’s wicket on the final ball.
A rivalry carried onto the field
ICC chairman Jay Shah attended the final. At the toss, Iyer didn’t shake hands with Pakistan skipper Sahibzada Farhan. After the match, players again avoided customary handshakes.
Cross-border tensions brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war last year, and the acrimony reached cricket, too. Indian cricketers have avoided handshakes with Pakistan players and refused to accept trophies and medals from Pakistani officials at more than one tournament.
The Indian men’s team beat Pakistan three times in the Asia Cup, including the final. Suryakumar Yadav’s team refused to accept the trophy from Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi and didn’t shake hands with Pakistan players in any of the three games. The Indian women’s team also didn’t shake hands with Pakistan at a continental championship match and refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi after winning the women’s Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
The conduct hasn’t been uniform across sports. In other Asian Games events, including hockey, players from both countries embraced and shook hands after India beat Pakistan in the semifinal.