Hasan Nawaz’s 96 Goes in Vain as India Beat Pakistan to Win Asian Games Gold
Sports Correspondent: Imran Sohail
India defeated Pakistan by 19 runs in the men’s cricket final of the 2026 Asian Games, successfully defending their title after Pakistan finished their chase at 192-6.
India set Pakistan a challenging target of 212 after scoring 211-6 in their 20 overs at Korogi Sports Park.
India Make Strong Start
India got off to an aggressive start after choosing to bat first. Openers Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma quickly put pressure on Pakistan’s bowlers.
Saim Ayub gave Pakistan their first breakthrough when he dismissed Sooryavanshi for 15 off nine deliveries in the third over.
Abhishek Sharma continued attacking and brought up his half-century before Arafat Minhas ended his innings. The Indian opener scored 61 from 28 balls, hitting three fours and seven sixes.
Sanju Samson made only two runs before Ahmed Daniyal removed him, leaving India at 51-2.
Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan attempted to rebuild the innings and added 35 runs together. Minhas eventually dismissed Kishan for 20 off 18 balls.
Iyer was then removed by Abrar Ahmed for 21, putting India at 139-5 and giving Pakistan another opening.
Tilak Varma Provides Late Acceleration
India accelerated during the final overs, with Shivam Dube contributing 27 from 15 balls.
Tilak Varma played a key role in the closing stages, attacking Pakistan’s bowlers with a series of boundaries and sixes.
Varma remained unbeaten on 51 from just 22 deliveries, including three fours and four sixes, helping India reach 211-6 at the end of their innings.
Ahmed Daniyal and Arafat Minhas took two wickets each for Pakistan, while Abrar Ahmed and Saim Ayub claimed one wicket apiece.
Hasan Nawaz Leads Pakistan’s Chase
Pakistan began the chase with the required run rate putting pressure on the batting lineup.
Hasan Nawaz responded with an outstanding innings, scoring 96 runs and keeping Pakistan in the contest deep into the chase.
His aggressive batting provided Pakistan with momentum, but India managed to control the crucial stages of the innings and restricted Pakistan to 192-6 after 20 overs.
Despite Nawaz’s impressive contribution, Pakistan fell 19 runs short of India’s total.
India Retain Asian Games Cricket Title
The victory gave India another Asian Games gold medal in men’s cricket. Pakistan had to settle for the silver medal after a determined chase led by Hasan Nawaz.
India’s total of 211-6 and Pakistan’s 192-6 produced a competitive final, with Nawaz’s 96 standing out as one of the major individual performances of the match.
