India retained the Asian Games men’s cricket gold medal with a 19-run victory over Pakistan in Nagoya on Sunday, according to media reports.
India posted 211-6 after being asked to bat first on a difficult pitch that offered assistance to spin. Abhishek Sharma led the scoring with 61 from 28 balls, while Tilak Varma made an unbeaten 51 from 22 balls.
India lost two wickets early but recovered through aggressive batting. Sharma attacked the Pakistan spinners before being dismissed, while Varma steadied the innings and provided a late surge. India hit 15 sixes during their innings.
Pakistan started their chase poorly, losing three wickets for 39 runs. The side then recovered through Hasan Nawaz and Saim Ayub, who added 87 runs and kept Pakistan in contention.
India’s bowlers maintained pressure during the middle overs. Pakistan needed 86 runs from the final six overs, but India continued to take wickets at crucial moments.
Nawaz kept Pakistan’s hopes alive with an aggressive 96, but the required run rate became too high in the closing stages. Pakistan finished on 192-6 in 20 overs, falling 19 runs short.
The victory means India successfully defended the Asian Games cricket title, adding another gold medal to their campaign in Nagoya.
