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India vs Pakistan Play First Asian Games Cricket Final for Gold in Japan
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In brief
India and Pakistan met on October 3, 2026, in the first men's cricket gold-medal final in Asian Games history, played at Kōrogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan. India won the toss, batted first and raced to 81 for 2 in six overs behind a rapid fifty from Abhishek Sharma, according to live scoring data available when this report was filed.
India and Pakistan faced off in the men's Twenty20 cricket final of the 2026 Asian Games on Saturday, October 3, at Kōrogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, according to Wikipedia's entry on the tournament and a live blog from Al Jazeera. It is the first time the two rivals have met in a cricket final at the Asian Games.
Toss, teams and match officials
India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bat first, Al Jazeera's live coverage and a Yahoo Sports report confirmed. India fielded Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer (captain), Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi and Jasprit Bumrah, per Yahoo Sports. Pakistan, led by Sahibzada Farhan, lined up Maaz Sadaqat, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz, Abdul Samad, Arafat Minhas, Ahmed Daniyal, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Abrar Ahmed and Sufiyan Moqim. On-field umpires Gazi Sohel and Prageeth Rambukwella officiated, with Graeme Labrooy as match referee, Yahoo Sports reported.
India's fast start
India reached 81 for 2 after six overs, with the team fifty coming up in just 3.2 overs (21 balls), Yahoo Sports reported citing live scoring. Opener Abhishek Sharma passed fifty off only 20 balls, hitting six sixes and three boundaries in the innings. Sooryavanshi was dismissed for 15, caught by Usman Khan off Saim Ayub's bowling, while Sanju Samson was out for 2. Pre-match, bookmakers and data models cited by Yahoo Sports gave India a 65% win probability against Pakistan's 35%; that figure moved to roughly 70-30 in India's favour during the fast start.
Rivalry, rankings and recent history
India and Pakistan have met 17 times in Twenty20 internationals, with India winning 13, Pakistan 3 and one match tied, according to Al Jazeera's preview of the final. India's most recent win over Pakistan in the format came on February 15, 2026, a 61-run victory at the T20 World Cup in which Ishan Kishan scored 77. Pakistan's last win over India dates back to September 4, 2022, a five-wicket victory in an Asia Cup semifinal, the same report said.
Path to the final
The Asian Games men's cricket competition ran from September 24 to October 3 with ten nations split into a preliminary round and knockout stage, according to Wikipedia. India and Pakistan, as ICC full members, entered directly at the quarterfinal stage. Both advanced without playing a completed quarterfinal: India's match against Afghanistan and Pakistan's against Hong Kong were both abandoned due to rain, with the higher-seeded side advancing in each case. In the semifinals, India beat Sri Lanka by 124 runs after posting 169 for 7, while Pakistan beat Bangladesh by six wickets in a match reduced to 13 overs per side.
| Category | India | Pakistan |
|---|---|---|
| Captain | Shreyas Iyer | Sahibzada Farhan |
| Quarterfinal result | Advanced after rain washout vs Afghanistan | Advanced after rain washout vs Hong Kong |
| Semifinal result | Beat Sri Lanka by 124 runs | Beat Bangladesh by 6 wickets (13 overs a side) |
| Previous Asian Games cricket gold | Won in 2023 (Hangzhou) | None |
What is at stake
India is defending the gold medal it won at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, while Pakistan is playing in a men's cricket final at the Games for the first time, Al Jazeera's preview noted. The outlet also reported a change to the weather-abandonment rule since 2023: if Saturday's final cannot be completed because of rain, India and Pakistan will now share the gold medal, rather than the result being decided on seeding as happened three years ago.
The figures in this report reflect the match information available from the sources at the time of writing; the final result was not yet confirmed in the material reviewed.
Questions
- Where is the India vs Pakistan Asian Games 2026 cricket final being played?
- At Kōrogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, as part of the 2026 Asian Games cricket competition, according to Wikipedia and Al Jazeera.
- What format is the Asian Games cricket final played in?
- It is a Twenty20 International (T20I) match, per the Wikipedia entry on the 2026 Asian Games men's cricket tournament.
- Who won the toss in the India-Pakistan final?
- India's captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bat first, according to Al Jazeera's live coverage and Yahoo Sports.
- What happens if the final is washed out by rain?
- Al Jazeera reported that under the current rule, India and Pakistan would share the gold medal if the match cannot be completed, a change from the 2023 Hangzhou Games format.
- What is India and Pakistan's head-to-head record in T20Is?
- India leads 13-3 with one tie across 17 T20I meetings, according to Al Jazeera's preview of the final.
Sources
- Al Jazeera — India vs Pakistan cricket: Asian Games gold medal final
- Al Jazeera — India vs Pakistan live: Asian Games cricket final
- Wikipedia — Cricket at the 2026 Asian Games – Men's tournament
- Yahoo Sports — IND vs PAK Asian Games final live score, toss winner, winning probability, result and highlights from Japan
- Yahoo Sports — India vs. Pakistan live win probability, score, chances of victory for Asian Games 2026 final
This piece was prepared with artificial intelligence and passed an automated source check before publication. If you see an error, ask for a correction. Request a correction or reply · How we make this
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