Twenty-eight balls were all it took. Abhishek Sharma hit 61 off them, with seven sixes, and by the time he walked off, the men's cricket gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games was effectively India's. They beat Pakistan by 19 runs in the final at Korogi Athletic Park in Nisshin, Japan, in the first meeting between the two sides in the competition's history.
India batted first and finished on 211 for six in their 20 overs. Sharma's seven sixes equalled Yuvraj Singh's mark for the most by an Indian batter in an India-Pakistan T20 international. Tilak Varma stayed unbeaten on 51, anchoring an innings that accelerated violently at the death: 69 of India's runs came in the last four overs alone, and that burst proved the difference.
Pakistan's reply belonged almost entirely to Hasan Nawaz, who made 96 from 51 deliveries with five fours and seven sixes. His 87-run stand with Saim Ayub brought the chase back within reach and quietened an increasingly nervous Indian attack. Once the partnership broke, however, the innings lost its shape. Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Shivam Dube each took two wickets, and Pakistan were pulled up short of the target.
It is India's second cricket gold of these Games, following the women's team's successful title defence. Pakistan collect their second silver medal in Nagoya.
For the hundreds of thousands of Indian and Pakistani residents across the UAE, the match dominated the morning. Office group chats, Deira cafes and Karama sports lounges followed every over, and a rivalry usually played out on grounds in Dubai and Sharjah unfolded this time on a field in central Japan that most viewers had never heard of before this week.</content> </invoke>