India beat archrivals Pakistan to win Asian Games T20 cricket gold

What the report says

India won the men’s T20 cricket gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games after defeating Pakistan by 19 runs in the final in Nagoya, Japan, according to Al Jazeera’s report based on AFP coverage. The match was played in front of a lively crowd on a converted baseball field, and came with the added symbolism of a rare India-Pakistan meeting on neutral ground.

India batted first and reached 211-6 in 20 overs. Abhishek Sharma made 61 and Tilak Varma finished unbeaten on 51, while India also benefited from several Pakistan fielding errors during the innings. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, described in the report as 15, struck early boundaries before falling for 15. India recovered after a mid-innings slowdown and then accelerated late, with Varma and Shivam Dube pushing the total beyond 200.

Pakistan’s chase was anchored by Hasan Nawaz, who scored 96 in a spirited effort that kept the contest close. He shared an important partnership with Saim Ayub, but Pakistan lost wickets at key moments and finished on 192-6. Al Jazeera noted that this was Pakistan’s best T20 run chase effort in the format’s context was not enough to overhaul India’s total.

The result extended the rivalry between the two teams, who rarely play each other outside international tournaments because of political tensions. Sri Lanka claimed bronze after beating Bangladesh in the third-place playoff.