Asian Games Final, Nagoya, Japan
India 211-6 (20 overs): Abhishek 61 (28), Tilak 51* (22)
Pakistan 192-6 (20 overs): Nawaz 96 (51); Stream 2-29
India won by 19 runs
Account card
Blistering half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma led India to victory as they beat arch-rivals Pakistan by 19 runs to win Asian Games gold.
Opting to bat first in Nagoya, India were 211-6 with Abhishek hitting 61 off 28 balls, hitting seven sixes.
A brilliant start helped the defending champions reach 81-2 at the end of the powerplay as Abhishek dominated the bowling before falling in the eighth over.
But the runs kept coming and Tilak’s unbeaten 51 off 22 with three fours and four sixes kept the momentum going till the end of the innings.
Pakistan soon struggled in the chase, slipping to 39-3 and falling well short despite Hasan Nawaz’s excellent knock of 96.
Nawaz hit seven maximums in a defiant innings but played single-handed and fell on the last ball of the match as Pakistan finished on 192-6.
The wickets were shared among the Indian bowlers, with spinners Axar Patel and Washington Sundar both taking 2-29 and all-rounder Shivam Dube taking 2-33.
After making their debut in the men’s event in Hangzhou, China, four years ago, India have now secured back-to-back gold medals.