India completed a historic cricket double at the Asian Games on Saturday as the men’s team defeated Pakistan by 19 runs in the T20 gold medal match, adding to the women’s team’s triumph earlier in the Games.
The victory took India’s overall medal tally to 81, including 19 gold, 26 silver and 36 bronze medals. The women’s team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, had earlier defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs to claim the gold.
Put in to bat, India posted a formidable 211/6, riding on aggressive half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma. Abhishek gave India a flying start, smashing 61 off just 28 balls with seven sixes and three fours.
India reached 81/2 in the powerplay, their highest-ever powerplay score against Pakistan in T20Is. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi contributed 15 off nine balls, while Ishan Kishan and captain Shreyas Iyer added 20 and 21 respectively.
Tilak then took charge in the closing stages, smashing an unbeaten 51 off 22 balls. Shivam Dube contributed 27 from 15 deliveries as the pair added 62 runs for the sixth wicket to push India beyond the 200-run mark.
Chasing 212, Pakistan lost wickets early despite a costly opening over from Jasprit Bumrah. Washington Sundar dismissed Sahibzada Farhan for 10, before Axar Patel struck twice to remove Usman Khan and Maaz Sadaqat.
Pakistan slipped to 39/3 before Hasan Nawaz and Saim Ayub revived the chase with an 87-run partnership. Ayub scored 29 off 22 balls before Shivam Dube ended the stand, but Hasan continued to threaten India’s total.
The Pakistan batter brought up a brilliant 96 off 51 balls, hitting five fours and seven sixes. However, Washington Sundar’s dismissal of Abdul Samad and further breakthroughs prevented Pakistan from completing the chase.
Pakistan eventually finished on 192/6, 19 runs short of India’s total.
Axar Patel and Washington Sundar claimed two wickets each, while Dube also finished with two wickets. For Pakistan, Arafat Minhas was the pick of the bowlers with 2/25.
India’s victory secured the men’s cricket gold and completed a memorable Asian Games double in the sport.
