Pakistan missed out on the gold medal after losing the Asian Games cricket final against India by 19 runs.
India posted a challenging 211-6 before restricting Pakistan to 192-6 at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan.
Hasan Nawaz produced an unbeaten 96 for Pakistan. However, his innings was not enough to complete the chase.
Pakistan Lose Early Wickets in 212-Run Chase
Pakistan started their chase with Sahibzada Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat at the crease.
The opening pair added 33 runs before Washington Sundar dismissed captain Farhan.
Farhan scored 10 runs from 11 deliveries, including one boundary. Axar Patel then removed Usman Khan for three, leaving Pakistan at 36-2.
Pakistan suffered another setback when Axar dismissed Maaz for 23 from 18 balls. The early wickets left Pakistan struggling at 39-3 after 6.1 overs.
Hasan Nawaz Leads Pakistan Fightback
Hasan Nawaz and Saim Ayub responded with an important 87-run partnership.
Their stand brought Pakistan back into the Cricket final and pushed the total beyond 100. Nawaz reached his third T20I half-century during the partnership.
Shivam Dube eventually dismissed Saim for 29 from 22 deliveries. Saim’s innings included two fours and one six.
Abdul Samad then made nine before Sundar claimed his second wicket.
Pakistan were 162-5 after 17.3 overs and needed a strong finish. However, they entered the final over requiring 33 runs.
Nawaz remained unbeaten on 96 from 51 deliveries. His innings featured five fours and seven sixes. Saad Masood contributed 12 as Pakistan finished at 192-6.
Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube took two wickets each for India.
India Post 211-6 in Asian Games Cricket Final
Earlier, India elected to bat first and made an aggressive start.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma attacked Pakistan’s bowlers during the opening overs.
Saim provided Pakistan’s first breakthrough by removing Sooryavanshi for 15. Ahmed Daniyal then dismissed Sanju Samson for two, leaving India at 51-2.
Abhishek continued attacking and completed his 13th T20I half-century. Arafat Minhas eventually dismissed him for 61 from only 28 deliveries.
Abhishek’s innings included three fours and seven sixes.
Tilak Varma Helps India Cross 200
Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan helped stabilise India’s innings after Abhishek’s departure.
Minhas dismissed Kishan for 20, while Abrar Ahmed removed Iyer for 21. Shivam Dube then scored 27 from 15 deliveries.
Tilak Varma provided the late acceleration with an unbeaten half-century.
He finished on 51 from 22 balls, hitting three fours and four sixes. His late hitting helped India reach 211-6.
Daniyal and Minhas took two wickets each for Pakistan. Abrar and Saim claimed one wicket apiece.
Pakistan Finish With Silver Medal
Pakistan needed 212 runs to win the Asian Games Cricket gold medal. Despite Nawaz’s unbeaten 96, the Green Shirts finished 19 runs short of India’s total.
The result gave India the gold medal, while Pakistan finished with silver.
The Cricket final featured strong individual performances from Abhishek, Varma and Nawaz.
In other news read more about: Pakistan Beat India 3-0 to Reach Asian Games Volleyball SemiFinals
India’s 211-run total ultimately proved beyond Pakistan’s reach despite a late fightback.
