SportsPosted at: Oct 3 2026 5:30PM


Asian Games: India hold off Pakistan fightback to retain cricket gold; Sri Lanka win bronze

New Delhi, Oct 3 (UNI) India held off a spirited Pakistan fightback to retain the Asian Games men’s cricket gold, after Shreyas Iyer’s side secured a 19-run victory in the final on Saturday. Abhishek Sharma’s explosive fifty set up India’s imposing 211 before Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube provided the late surge. Pakistan threatened through Hasan Nawaz, who smashed 96, but India held their nerve when it mattered to close out the contest.
India’s decision to bat first paid off as they raced to 81 in the Powerplay on a surface that offered plenty of assistance to spin. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi began the assault by hitting Saad Masood for two sixes before Abhishek took the leg-spinner for 24 in the same over.
Sooryavanshi was dismissed soon after, gloving an attempted reverse-hit to the wicketkeeper, but Abhishek continued to attack. He survived a dropped catch and a run-out chance before reaching his 20-ball fifty. He eventually fell for a quickfire 52, stumped off Arafat Minhas.
Skipper Iyer and Ishan Kishan tried to rebuild the innings, but Pakistan’s spinners improved their lengths and India went through a 34-ball stretch without a boundary. Kishan was bowled attempting a pull, while Shreyas struggled to accelerate.
Tilak broke the drought in the 17th over before Dube joined the attack. Tilak found the gaps and cleared the boundary, while Dube stepped out to hit Saim Ayub for successive sixes. The 19th over brought 23 runs, and although Dube fell early in the final over, Tilak smashed two more sixes to bring up his fifty from 21 balls. India finished on 211, with Pakistan also dropping a catch off the final delivery.
Pakistan’s chase began poorly as Axar Patel and Washington Sundar kept the batters under pressure in the Powerplay. Pakistan were 39/2 after six overs, with Washington also removing Maaz Sadaqat after Axar had taken an early wicket.
Nawaz and Ayub then changed the momentum with an 87-run stand. Nawaz survived two chances, including one after a collision between Sooryavanshi and Ravi Bishnoi, and made India pay by taking on the spinners. Bishnoi was particularly expensive, conceding 44 from his three overs.
Shreyas turned to Dube and the move immediately paid off, with Ayub dismissed while attempting a scoop. Nawaz continued to attack and reached his fifty, but Pakistan needed 68 from the final four overs.
India’s fielding remained untidy, allowing Pakistan to stay in the contest, but Washington produced the crucial 18th over. He dismissed Abdul Samad and conceded only eight runs, apart from a last-ball six.
Bumrah then bowled a tight penultimate over, despite conceding a six, leaving Pakistan needing 33 from the final six balls. Dube conceded a boundary and a wide at the start, but responded with a yorker that effectively ended Pakistan’s hopes. Nawaz fell off the final delivery as the defending champions completed a 19-run win to retain their gold.
Brief Scores: India 211/6 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 61, Tilak Varma 51*, Shivam Dube 27; Arafat Minhas 2-25) beat Pakistan 192/6 in 20 overs (Hasan Nawaz 96, Saim Ayub 29; Axar Patel 2-29, Washington Sundar 2-29, Shivam Dube 2-33) by 19 runs
Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka recovered from a precarious position to beat Bangladesh by 63 runs and pick the men’s cricket bronze medal at the 2026 Asian Games.
Sent in to bat in the bronze medal play-off, Sri Lanka were in deep trouble at 54/5 in the 11th over before Tharindu Ratnayake and Sahan Arachchige turned the game around. The pair added 93 runs for the sixth wicket, with Ratnayake smashing a counter-attacking 65 to lift Sri Lanka to 165/9.
Bangladesh struggled to build any momentum in the chase as Sri Lanka’s bowlers struck at regular intervals. Ratnayake completed an impressive all-round performance by taking two wickets, while three other Sri Lankan bowlers also claimed two each to skittle Bangladesh out for 102 in 17.3 overs.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 165/9 in 20 overs (Tharindu Ratnayake 65; Mahedi Hasan 2-19, Saif Hasan 2-28) beat Bangladesh 102 in 17.3 overs (Nasum Ahmed 26; Nuwan Thushara 2-18, Tharindu Ratnayake 2-18, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 2-26, Wanuja Sahan 2-17) by 63 runs. UNI TB AAB
Tags: #Asian Games: India hold off Pakistan fightback to retain cricket gold; Sri Lanka win bronze
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