Nagoya, October 3: India retained the men’s cricket gold at the Asian Games 2026, beating Pakistan by 19 runs in the final on Saturday. Half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma carried India to 211/6, and Pakistan finished on 192/6 despite a fighting 96 from Hasan Nawaz.
It is India’s second successive gold in the event. The Shreyas Iyer-led side’s win also completed a cricket double for the country, after the women’s team beat Sri Lanka by 147 runs earlier in the tournament.
Abhishek Sharma sets the pace
Iyer won the toss and chose to bat. Abhishek went after the bowling from the first over and made 61 off 28 balls, with seven sixes and three fours.
India were 81/2 at the end of the powerplay. That is their highest powerplay score against Pakistan in T20 internationals.
Iyer made 21 and Ishan Kishan 20. Shivam Dube kept the scoreboard moving with 27 off 15 balls, including two sixes and two fours.
Tilak Varma finishes the innings
Tilak took over in the closing overs. He was unbeaten on 51 off 22 deliveries, hitting four sixes and three fours, as India closed on 211/6 from their 20 overs.
Arafat Minhas was Pakistan’s tightest bowler with 2/25. Ahmed Daniyal also picked up two wickets but went for 43. Abrar Ahmed returned 1/29 and Saim Ayub 1/47.
Hasan Nawaz’s 96 not enough for Pakistan
Pakistan needed more than 10 an over, and Nawaz kept them in the chase for a long time. He made 96 off 51 balls, with seven sixes and five fours.
Saim Ayub chipped in with 29 off 22 balls. Beyond that, Nawaz got little help.
India’s spinners held their nerve. Axar Patel and Washington Sundar took two wickets each for 29 runs, and Dube backed up his batting with 2/33. Pakistan ended on 192/6.
Sri Lanka take bronze
Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 63 runs in the third-place play-off. Tharindu Ratnayake scored 65 off 32 balls, with seven fours and five sixes, as Sri Lanka posted 165/9.
Ratnayake then took 2/18 with the ball, and Sri Lanka restricted Bangladesh to 102.
India’s medal tally
India are fifth in the medal standings with 84 medals: 20 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze. China lead the table with 338 medals, including 167 gold, ahead of hosts Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Asian Games 2026 medal standings: top 10
| Rank | Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 167 | 89 | 82 | 338 |
| 2 | Japan | 82 | 90 | 90 | 262 |
| 3 | Republic of Korea | 37 | 43 | 67 | 147 |
| 4 | Uzbekistan | 21 | 25 | 24 | 70 |
| 5 | India | 20 | 27 | 37 | 84 |
| 6 | Iran | 18 | 18 | 15 | 51 |
| 7 | Thailand | 18 | 13 | 21 | 52 |
| 8 | Kazakhstan | 12 | 24 | 46 | 82 |
| 9 | Hong Kong, China | 11 | 19 | 24 | 54 |
| 10 | Bahrain | 11 | 5 | 6 | 22 |
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