Asiad men’s cricket final: India secures consecutive gold in men's cricket, beats Pakistan by 19 runs
India batted first in the Asian Games final against Pakistan, posting 81 in the powerplay, with Abhishek Sharma scoring a half-century, despite Sanju Samson's quick dismissal.
India batted first in the Asian Games final against Pakistan, posting 81 in the powerplay, with Abhishek Sharma scoring a half-century, despite Sanju Samson's quick dismissal.
India batted first in the Asian Games final against Pakistan, posting 81 in the powerplay, with Abhishek Sharma scoring a half-century, despite Sanju Samson's quick dismissal.
Nisshin: India defeated Pakistan by 19 runs in the final of the Asian Games men’s cricket event, here on Saturday. They won their second consecutive gold medal in the Games event, matching the feat with their women's cricket team.
Having elected to bat first, India tallied 81 runs in the powerplay with Abhishek Sharma leading the charge with an explosive 61(28) including 3 fours and 7 sixes. Keralite Sanju Samson was dismissed for a disappointing 2(4) by Pakistan’s Ahmed Daniyal.
Pakistan pulled off a comeback with quick wickets in the middle overs, dismissing Ishan Kishan and skipper Shreyas Iyer to leave two new batters, Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube, in the middle. Dube and Varma kept the scoreboard ticking while settling in, and accelerated the scoring rate through the final four overs. Varma's 51 not out off 23 balls saw India get past the 200-run mark, eventually leading to a strong finish at 211/6 off the 20 overs.
Pakistan was unsettled early on by the Indian spinners, taking quick wickets to dismantle the top order. Hasan Nawaz and Saim Ayub combined at the fourth wicket, building a long partnership to keep Pakistan alive in the game.
Indian bowling struggled against Nawaz's solo fight, moving the scoreboard quickly with consistent boundaries. Shivam Dube once again proved decisive in the game, dismissing Saim Ayub to break the partnership.
Nawaz continued to add runs, while the Indian bowlers tried to tighten things up in the final overs. However, with wickets falling at the other end, he could not get Pakistan over the line, with Dube dismissing him on the final ball of the innings to secure back-to-back gold medals for India in the Asian Games.
Brief scores:
India: 211/6 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 61 (28), Tilak Varma 51(23) not out; A Minhas 2/25, A Daniyal 2/43).
Pakistan: 192/6 in 20 overs (Hasan Nawaz 96 (51); Axar Patel 29/2 Washington Sundar 29/2, Shivam Dubey 33/2).