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India retained their Asian Games men’s cricket crown by defeating Pakistan by 19 runs in a dramatic final at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin on Saturday.
The victory gave India consecutive gold medals in the men’s cricket competition.
After winning the toss, India captain Shreyas Iyer chose to bat first. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi struck two sixes in his 15 off nine balls before Saim Ayub dismissed him, while Sanju Samson departed for four.
The early setbacks failed to affect Abhishek Sharma, who attacked Pakistan’s bowling from the outset. The left-hander reached his fifty from only 20 deliveries as India raced to 81/2 during the Powerplay.
Abhishek eventually fell for a sensational 61 off 28 balls, smashing three fours and seven sixes at a strike rate of 217.85.
India’s middle order initially faced pressure from Pakistan’s spinners, with Ishan Kishan scoring 20 and Iyer making 21.
Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube then transformed the momentum with an explosive 62-run partnership.
Dube made 27 from 15 balls before Ahmed Daniyal dismissed him in the final over. Tilak remained unbeaten on 51 from 22 deliveries, while Axar Patel added the final run as India reached 211/6.
Pakistan’s chase gained momentum through Hasan Nawaz, who struck a magnificent 96 from 51 balls. His counterattack kept the contest alive despite India taking wickets at regular intervals.
Washington Sundar and Axar Patel controlled the middle overs with disciplined spells, claiming two wickets each. Dube then completed India’s victory by dismissing Nawaz with the final delivery, restricting Pakistan to 192/6.
India’s victory extended their dominance in men’s cricket at the Asian Games and added another gold to their campaign.
Brief scores: India 211/6 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 61, Tilak Varma 51*; Arafat Minhas 2-25, Ahmed Daniyal 2-43) beat Pakistan 192/6 in 20 overs (Hasan Nawaz 96, Saim Ayub 29; Washington Sundar 2-29, Axar Patel 2-29) by 19 runs.
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