Nisshin: India defeated Pakistan by 19 runs in the men's cricket final at the Asian Games in Japan on Saturday to retain their title and complete a gold medal double for the country's cricket teams.
India scored 211 for six in their 20 overs before Pakistan finished on 192 for six in reply. The victory gave India their second consecutive men's cricket gold medal at the Asian Games.
India made a strong start after captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bat at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin.
Opener Abhishek Sharma provided the main attacking force in the early part of the innings. He scored 61 runs from 28 balls, hitting seven sixes and three fours as India quickly built momentum.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also made a fast start before being dismissed for 15 from nine balls. Sanju Samson was then dismissed for two runs, but India continued to score at a high rate.
Tilak Varma played an important role in the final stages of the innings. He remained unbeaten on 51 from 22 balls as India passed 200 and set Pakistan a target of 212.
Pakistan's chase began under pressure and the team reached 39 for two at the end of the six over powerplay. India continued to take wickets and restrict Pakistan's scoring rate.
Hasan Nawaz kept Pakistan in the contest with an aggressive innings. He scored 96 runs from 51 balls, including five fours and seven sixes, and carried the chase deep into the second innings.
India's bowlers continued to put pressure on Pakistan as the required run rate increased. Washington Sundar and Axar Patel made important breakthroughs, while Shivam Dube also played a key role with the ball.
Pakistan needed 33 runs from the final over to win. Nawaz was dismissed by Dube from the final ball of the match as Pakistan ended their innings on 192 for six, 19 runs short of India's total.
The victory completed a gold medal double for India in cricket at the Asian Games. The Indian women's team had already won the women's title after defeating Sri Lanka by 147 runs on September 22.
India's men's team had also won the previous Asian Games cricket title, making Saturday's victory a successful defence of their gold medal.
Sri Lanka won the men's bronze medal earlier on Saturday after defeating Bangladesh by 63 runs.
The men's final brought India and Pakistan together in another major international cricket tournament, adding significance to an already closely followed sporting contest between the neighbouring countries.
For India, the victory combined a strong batting performance with disciplined bowling and completed another successful Asian Games campaign in cricket. Pakistan had a major contribution from Nawaz, but India's 211 proved enough to secure the gold medal.