India beat Pakistan by 19 runs in the Asian Games 2026 men’s T20 cricket final on October 3.
India made 211 for 6 with Abhishek Sharma on 61 and Tilak Varma on 51 not out.
Pakistan made 192 for 6, with Hasan Nawaz scoring 96 off 51 balls.
The captains did not shake hands, and the medal ceremony was delayed with no official reason given.
Sri Lanka took the bronze medal.
It was the fifth consecutive men’s match between the two teams in which players declined handshakes.
The medal ceremony was significantly delayed, and no official reason was given for the delay.
ICC chairman Jay Shah presented medals to the Indian players, while Pakistan and bronze medallists Sri Lanka received theirs from Asian Games officials.
The Asian Games 2026 are being held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4.
The cricket competition at the Games is played in the T20 format, with each side batting for a maximum of 20 overs.
To win the match Pakistan needed to chase 212 runs, which meant scoring at more than ten runs an over.
A T20 total of 211 is a high score for a final, and it required Pakistan to attack from the start.
Sri Lanka took the bronze medal in the men’s event, according to Al Jazeera’s report.
Cricket was played at the Asian Games in 2010 and 2014, was left out in 2018, and returned at the 2023 Games in Hangzhou, where India won the men’s title.
Abhishek Sharma’s 61 gave India the platform for the late scoring that carried the total past 200.
India beat Pakistan by 19 runs in the men’s T20 cricket final of the Asian Games 2026 on Saturday, October 3, in Nagoya, Japan.
India made 211 for 6 in their 20 overs after batting first.
Cricket stadium (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, public domain
