Asian Games final: India set Pakistan 212 to win gold as Abhishek, Tilak and Dube shine

India and Pakistan are facing each other in the men's cricket gold medal match at the Asian Games 2026. The match is being played at the Korogi Sports Park in Nishin, Japan. Indian captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bat first.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma gave India a fast start. Vaibhav made 15 off 9 balls, including two sixes. Sanju Samson was then out for just 2. At the other end, Abhishek attacked the Pakistani bowlers. He reached his fifty in only 20 balls and finally played a blistering knock of 61 off 28 balls, with 3 fours and as many as 7 sixes. His sixes in today's match also touched some notable T20 records.

After Abhishek's dismissal, India's scoring slowed for a while. Ishan Kishan made 20 and captain Shreyas Iyer added 21. India were 133 for 5 in 14.1 overs.

Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube then hit back strongly against the Pakistan bowlers. Tilak Varma smashed 51 off just 22 balls to give the Indian innings a superb finish. Shivam Dube also made 27 off 15 balls. On the strength of this fast batting, India set Pakistan a target of 212.

India had beaten Sri Lanka by 124 runs in the semi-final. Chasing India's 169, the Sri Lankan team was bowled out for just 45. Pakistan, for their part, reached the final by beating Bangladesh by six wickets in a semi-final reduced to 13 overs because of rain.

Pakistan now need 212 in 20 overs for the gold medal. India are the defending champions and have taken the field looking to win a second consecutive Asian Games gold medal.