India vs Pakistan highlights Cricket Score, Asian Games 2026 Final: IND win gold after beating PAK by 19 runs

If I have to use a word, I would say ecstatic as well because since the day we arrived in Japan, it was raining cats and dogs and we couldn't practice for almost a week. But the boys, the way they prepped themselves and also were doing their training on the side, we didn't complain, we didn't give any reasons. So that was a sign of a champion itself, champion team. And today was just a reflection of that. [On his emotions when Pakistan were chasing] Well, they were cruising pretty well and they got that momentum in between. I just wanted to see that I get that fifth (bowlers) over as soon as possible, finish it off, and then Bumrah was there, Washi was there, the lead bowlers, they wanted to come in as well. So I basically paced their overs pretty well. That's what I felt. And especially when the run rate is about 13 to 14, we know that the batsmen, they are going to take charge, and one wicket is going to change the momentum, shift the momentum towards us. So that's what happened, and that crucial wicket of.. I don't remember the name of the batsman (Ayub), but that changed the momentum. [On different players contributing to today's win] Exactly. When you're playing a final, you want each and every individual to step up and deliver, and that's what we witnessed today. Abhishek giving us that start, and then Tilak basically finishing off the innings, and then in bowling Washi taking the charge, Axar being himself all the time, and Bumrah, we know what he has got. So yeah, collective effort, and overall I would say comprehensive win. [On the celebrations tonight] Definitely, I mean I'm extremely happy, and all of us are just waiting to go back to the hotel. We've been on the ground for a while now, so yes, we haven't decided what we are going to do, but let's see.

Will Shivam Dube travel back in a train to Tokyo, a la post Ahmedabad triumph (re-read Devendra Pandey story)? He's batted, he's bowled wider than wide Yorkers, he's denied Nawaz a century. And he's won gold. Like when Tilak and Dube won back then for India. The Indian team did take a high speed rail from Tokyo to Nagoya though.

Well, there is the breakthrough. Washington Sundar has picked up the wicket of Abdul Samad. It was a quicker, flatter delivery, which the batter tried to hit down the ground rather than looking for the square boundaries went for the power option and ended up giving the catch to the fielder there. It is a timely breakthrough, as Samad can get a few hits away. It was an interesting choice, as there was a consensus that it should have been Bumrah who should be bowling that over in the commentary, but Iyer went with Sundar. Also, one more notable thing is that India's fielding has been quite ordinary.

Well, the partnership is now getting concerning for India as Iyer has turned to Bumrah. It is one over too early for him to come back, but that is how Iyer has been operating with his captaincy off late, which is to be a tad bit proactive with the wicket-taking options; the result, though, the over did not yield anything. India needs a breakthrough here, and the advantage of having that extremely long batting lineup can be a bane in the bowling, and that is what is evident here. Guess what? Dube has been brought into the attack, and Ayub hit one straight to square leg, and there is the breakthrough.

Well, it is a water break. All India has to do is manage this game from here on. They have picked up the early wickets, and all the play in this has to come from Pakistan. The pitch is not going to get any easier at all, and India has spin options up their sleeve, and Jasprit Bumrah's quality at the death will not make things any easier for Pakistan either. Hasan Nawaz, who is in the middle, does have a reputation of being a good hitter, but can he deliver the goods? We have to see. He has to score a 30-ball 80 of sorts to even get Pakistan back in this game from here on.

Well, it is just following a script both India and Pakistan fans have been quite accustomed to. First, it was Farhan who tried to play his most productive shot, which is a slog-sweep of sorts through the leg-side; ironically enough, he middled it straight to a fielder on the boundary, and Shreyas Iyer called Axar Patel, and as always, Baapu never disappoints his captains. It was a cracking over from him; instead of looking to bowl hard lengths, he erred a bit on the fuller side, and Usman Khan played a semi-half pull to a ball which was not there and got out.

Well, that was a pretty long over from Jasprit Bumrah. He bowled a couple of no-balls in that one. Well, Bumrah, no-ball and the final against Pakistan any memories? It was the 2017 Champions Trophy final when Fakhar Zaman edged one to slip, but Bumrah bowled a no-ball; Zaman went on to score a sublime century, and India lost the game. We are far away from that here, but Farhan, in his encounters with India, has been pretty good, so Bumrah has to be a tad bit careful here with his overstepping. It might be a case of changing ends; we shall see.

Well, that has to be an innings of the highest quality from Tilak Varma coming at that stage of the innings; it is something very, very special he has achieved there. While Abhishek Sharma's innings up top the order was very good, this is one notch above. The hitting was not just power; it was the street-smartness from him. What a player he is turning out to be slowly for India across different conditions and totals. The score through is too big for Pakistan to get even if they give themselves a chance, India will have to drop chances just because of the nature of this pitch. And the Indian spinners won't make the same mistake which Pakistan made by not operating on good lengths. Do stay with us; we will be right back after the break.

This is a cracking partnership between Shivam Dube and Tilak Varma. The surface was slowing down and turning, and batting was getting harder, but both of them have managed to get the partnership to slam the bowlers.

Batting has become very hard here, and Shreyas Iyer is the latest wicket to fall. It was a hard-length delivery, which he tried to push hard and gave away the catch to the fielder at mid-off.

We have reached the water break, and if we double the score from that point, India will get to 228, which will be a sort of miracle on this surface. The issue with Pakistan bowlers is spinners, especially; they are trying to operate on that hard length, but because it is too slow, Indian batters are putting their weight on the back foot and playing shots with ease. In hindsight, they could have tossed a few up, and because there is some turn, a wicket would have fallen. Having said that, as they do in these pressure games, they split quite a few chances. At this moment, Iyer and Kishan too are doing the same as Abhishek did, which is bashing the bowler.

Shivani Naik: Axar Patel had said after the Sri Lanka win that the par score for this pitch was 150. So the 170 was 10-15 runs above that and viewed as comfortable.

Pakistan don't bat too deep. But India will like a bigger cushion and the captain to take them there.

Familiar flaws in pressure games seem to have resurfaced for Pakistan yet again; they have dropped quite a few catches here, and this just keeps happening whenever they face India in these crunch games. Although many players in this iteration of the team have not faced the Indian team at all, they still seem to carry the mental baggage of immense pressure and make these errors during the game. As we update, Abhishek has slammed a half-century; here it is a brilliant innings, and on pitches like these, an innings like that up at the top is as good as a Player of the Match performance.

Nitin Sharma: Sanju Viswanath Samson. Asian Games organisers using the passport name and first two words of the official name on records and so does the scoreboard and the visuals on TV.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has fallen here; he tried to reverse-lap Saim Ayub and did not get anything good on that, and the keeper completed the catch. The frustration could be seen on the face of Abhishek Sharma after that shot played by Sooryavanshi. It does seem like India has decided to go down the ground rather than the other areas of the pitch, and that shot from Sooryavanshi did seem to take Abhishek at least by surprise. However, they have got this innings going, mind you; these are not very high-scoring venues and India, by those standards, has got a very, very good start here already.

National anthems are done here in Nisshin, the atmosphere buzzing here for the India vs Pakistan game as it always does. Well, it does not have the vibe of the MCG from 2022, but it has its own flavour. Although it is not a full-strength Pakistan side, they do have some skilful, canny players in this side, especially when it comes to the spin department.

Representing India isn't just about being associated with the BCCI, it's always about something much bigger. There are so many expectations, so many plans in motion, and millions of people cheering for you. You feel that intense pride inside, even if you don't always show it externally. It really is a unique feeling. Even though we have a world-class squad with fantastic batters and bowlers, there is still that extra weight of pressure whenever you perform for the country. Cricket can change in an instant, you step out to bat, face one good ball, and the entire momentum of the match shifts. You have to be completely switched on, read the pitch, know what the team requires, and execute your plan. Especially on these kinds of surfaces, prioritising team goals over individual milestones is essential, and that's where our entire focus lies. It’s been a fantastic experience here overall. The local people have been incredibly warm and helpful, guiding us wherever we need to go, even despite the language barrier. When you're in a foreign country, seeing locals go out of their way to support you when it isn't even their job means a lot to us. As for the fans, sabse achha cheez yeh hai (the best part is) that no matter where we play around the world, Indian supporters show up in huge numbers and give us that extra cushion of backing. It feels like we start every game with a slight upper hand because of them. I'm deeply grateful to everyone who travels long distances to support us. Win or lose, their love is unconditional, they just want to cheer us on, keep us motivated, and ensure every player feels comfortable. That support truly means everything to us.

“He shouldn’t change his approach. Who’s going to ask him to change his approach? And I think he’s got a pretty decent ball sense. He’s not your flat-pitch slogger. I think temperamentally, he’s pretty okay for the big stage,” he said.

“And especially with Ishan Kishan, who is in that form of his life, and I’ve never seen him bat better than he’s done in the last few months,” he said.

“In Ishan Kishan, because there was a time when India had a problem against spin. In Test matches, Devdutt Padikkal, particularly, seemed to have solved it. And Ishan out there in this batting line-up is a boon on a pitch like this.”

“It is going to be a battle of spin,” former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar said in an interview facilitated by Sony Sports Network.

“And I see in such circumstances, batting to be more challenging, especially because now these T20 batters will have to hit against spin on a pitch that has a lot for the spinners. So, it’s going to test the skills of the batters. And it’s going to be a challenge,” he said.

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