Asian Games 2026 / India Opt to Bat First Against Pakistan in High-Stakes Asian Games Cricket Final

Nisshin, Oct. 3: Defending champions India won the toss and elected to bat first against arch-rivals Pakistan in the men's cricket final of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 at the Karogi Sports Park on Saturday. Led by Shreyas Iyer, the Men in Blue entered the highly anticipated gold medal clash with an unchanged playing XI as they seek to retain their Asian Games crown.

The Men in Blue went with an unchanged team for the gold medal clash as Arshdeep Singh, Yash Thakur and Vipraj Nigam remained on the bench. Eyes will turn towards the likes of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan and Jasprit Bumrah among others as India look to defend their title.

Pakistan came into the final with one change as batting all-rounder Saad Masood got a game ahead of fast bowler Mohammad Wasim Jr.

This is the first meeting between India and Pakistan in the Asian Games across men's and women's cricket. India started participating in the cricket event at the continental showpiece from the 2023 Hangzhou Games onwards and did not meet their arch-rivals in the tournament until this point, where they meet them for the biggest prize.

India made light work of a second-string Sri Lankan side on a challenging surface in the semifinal as they registered a stellar 124-run win with Ishan Kishan and bowlers leading the way. On the other hand, Pakistan chased a decent 112 against Bangladesh in the semifinal in a six-wicket win with nine balls to spare in a curtailed game.

Both teams saw their quarterfinals washed out due to rain in Nisshin, and the semifinals were their first outings at the Games.

For India, Kishan scored a marvellous 80 from 46 balls with five sixes and four fours, while teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also provided a strong start with 38 off 21 balls as India posted an imposing 169/7. The Indian bowlers then dismantled Sri Lanka for 45 to record a comprehensive victory.

Pakistan's bowlers produced a disciplined display to restrict Bangladesh to 111/7. Saim Ayub was particularly effective, conceding only three runs and claiming a wicket in two overs.

Pakistan were briefly under pressure during the chase after Sahibzada Farhan's early dismissal. However, contributions from Maaz Sadaqat, Usman Khan and Saim Ayub kept the scoreboard moving.

At 76/4, Abdul Samad and Hasan Nawaz turned the game decisively in Pakistan's favour, taking 23 runs from Mustafizur Rahman's 10th over. Nawaz later struck the winning boundary in the 12th over to seal a six-wicket victory and set up the much-awaited final against India.
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Playing XIs

India: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (w), Shreyas Iyer (c), Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah.

Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan (c), Maaz Sadaqat, Usman Khan (wk), Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz, Abdul Samad, Saad Masood, Arafat Minhas, Ahmed Daniyal, Abrar Ahmed, Sufyan Moqim.

(IANS)