India won men’s cricket gold at the Asian Games on Saturday, 3 October, defeating Pakistan by 19 runs at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan.
Half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma helped India reach 211 for six in their 20 overs. Pakistan finished on 192 for six despite Hasan Nawaz’s 96 from 51 balls.
The victory completed a cricket gold-medal double for India. Their women’s team had beaten Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final on 22 September. pcb.com.pk, reuters.com
Abhishek and Varma build India’s total
India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bat. Abhishek provided the early momentum, scoring 61 from 28 deliveries, including seven sixes and three fours.
Pakistan took wickets throughout the innings, with Iyer contributing 21 and Ishan Kishan making 20. Varma then strengthened India’s finish, ending unbeaten on 51 from 22 balls.
The International Cricket Council’s match report confirmed India’s second successive men’s cricket gold at the Games.
For Pakistan, Arafat Minhas took two wickets for 25 runs, while Ahmed Daniyal finished with two for 43. Abrar Ahmed and Saim Ayub claimed one wicket each. (icc-cricket.com, pcb.com.pk)
Nawaz leads Pakistan’s resistance
Pakistan’s pursuit of 212 suffered an early setback when they slipped to 39 for three in the seventh over.
Nawaz and Ayub revived the chase with an 87-run fourth-wicket partnership. Ayub scored 29 from 22 balls, while Nawaz continued attacking as the required scoring rate increased.
According to the Pakistan Cricket Board’s report, Nawaz struck five fours and seven sixes. He was dismissed on the final ball, four runs short of a century.
Axar Patel and Washington Sundar each returned figures of two for 29. Shivam Dube took two for 33 as India defended their total and Pakistan settled for silver. (pcb.com.pk, pcb.com.pk)
Sri Lanka Take Bronze
Sri Lanka secured the men’s bronze medal with a 63-run victory over Bangladesh earlier on Saturday.
Tharindu Ratnayake scored 65 off 32 balls to help Sri Lanka recover from 54 for five and reach 165 for nine. He then took two wickets for 18 runs as Bangladesh were dismissed for 102.
Nuwan Thushara, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth and Wanuja Sahan also took two wickets each. (icc-cricket.com)
India therefore finished the cricket programme with both gold medals, while Pakistan took men’s silver and Sri Lanka added men’s bronze to their women’s silver. (reuters.com, icc-cricket.com)
