Nisshin, Japan | October 3: Some rivalries need no introduction. India and Pakistan have met in a gold medal final at the Asian Games, and the Indian batters made sure it started with a statement.
India won the toss, chose to bat, and finished on 211/6 in their 20 overs. Pakistan now need 212 to win the men’s cricket gold at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin.
The start was explosive. Abhishek Sharma set the tone with 61 off just 28 balls. India reached 81/2 after six overs and crossed 100 in under nine. Pakistan broke through early when Saim Ayub removed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, but the scoring barely slowed. Abhishek’s fiery knock ended only when he was stumped off Arafat Minhas, with India at 120/3 after 11 overs.
Pakistan pulled it back in the middle. The bowlers tightened up and India were 142/5 after 16 overs. For a while, 200 looked like it might be out of reach.
Then came the finish. Tilak Varma hit four huge sixes in the last few overs and reached a fifty. Shivam Dube added 27 off 15 balls before Ahmed Daniyal dismissed him in the final over. Pakistan also dropped a catch off the last ball, a miss that could prove costly.
India are the defending champions after winning gold in Hangzhou in 2023. Pakistan are chasing their first men’s cricket gold at the Games, and their only medal in the event was a bronze in 2010.
It is a big target, but it is still a T20 chase, and Pakistan’s batters know how quickly a game can turn. One more thing to note: if rain had washed out the final, the two teams would have shared the gold medal.
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