India won the men’s cricket gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games on Saturday, 3 October, beating Pakistan by 19 runs in the final at Nisshin, in Japan’s Aichi prefecture. It is India’s second successive gold in the event, following the title won at Hangzhou in 2023.
The match
India, led by Shreyas Iyer, won the toss and chose to bat, and made 211 for 6 in their 20 overs. Pakistan replied with 192 for 6.
India’s innings
- Abhishek Sharma set the pace with 61 from 28 balls, including three fours and seven sixes.
- Tilak Varma finished the innings with an unbeaten 51 from 22 balls, with three fours and four sixes.
- Shivam Dube added 27 from 15 balls.
- Shreyas Iyer made 21, Ishan Kishan 20 and the teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 15, according to Business Today’s report of the match.
Pakistan’s chase
Chasing 212, Pakistan stayed in the game until the closing overs but could not keep up with the required rate. Indian reports credited Jasprit Bumrah‘s opening spell, two early wickets from Axar Patel and a breakthrough by Dube with keeping the chase in check. Pakistan were captained by Sahibzada Farhan.
The road to the final
India reached the final with a one-sided win in the semi-final on 1 October, scoring 169 for 7 and then bowling Sri Lanka out for 45 in 9.5 overs.
Why it matters
Cricket returned to the Asian Games in 2023 after an absence, and India won both the men’s and women’s titles that year. The Twenty20 series against West Indies began in Lucknow three days after the final.
Scores are as published by Business Today, Outlook and Al Jazeera. Reports differ on some individual Pakistani scores, which are therefore not given here.
Image: Aichi Kourogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan, venue of the Asian Games cricket competition (file photo). Photo by 運動会プロテインパワー, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.