New Delhi, 02 October (H.S.): For the first time in Asian Games cricket history, India and Pakistan will face each other for the gold medal. The two teams will meet in the men’s cricket gold-medal match at Kurogai Sports Park on Saturday. India will be aiming to win the Asian Games gold medal for the second consecutive time.

The Indian team, which won the gold medal at the Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games, is making its second appearance in cricket at the continental event. India and Pakistan had not faced each other in any of their five matches played so far. The two teams also did not meet in the women’s cricket competition in this edition. The Indian women’s team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, recently defeated Sri Lanka to win the gold medal.

India secured a place in the final by defeating Sri Lanka’s second-string side by 124 runs in the semifinal. Batting first on a challenging pitch, India scored 169 runs in 20 overs. Ishan Kishan produced an impressive innings of 80 from 46 balls, including five sixes and four fours, while young Vaibhav Suryavanshi provided India with a strong start by scoring 38 runs off 21 balls.

Chasing a target of 170, Sri Lanka suffered early setbacks as India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah struck in his opening spell. Bumrah claimed two wickets in his over to dismantle Sri Lanka’s top order, finishing with figures of two wickets for seven runs. Axar Patel took two wickets for eight runs, while Abhishek Sharma also claimed two wickets for two runs. India’s bowlers bundled Sri Lanka out for just 45 runs.

Pakistan, meanwhile, defeated Bangladesh by six wickets in a rain-affected semifinal. Bangladesh scored 111 runs in 20 overs. Pakistan’s bowlers produced an impressive performance, with Saim Ayub taking one wicket for just three runs in two overs.

While chasing the target, Pakistan suffered an early setback when Mahedi Hasan dismissed Sahibzada Farhan in the second over. Majd Sadakat then scored 15 runs off seven balls, Usman Khan made 14 off nine balls and Saim Ayub contributed 21 off 12 balls to steady the innings.

Pakistan were at one stage reduced to 76 for four. Abdul Samad and Hasan Nawaz then turned the match in Pakistan’s favour by plundering 23 runs from Mustafizur Rahman’s 10th over. Samad alone scored 22 of those runs. Pakistan needed 13 runs from the final 18 balls, and Hasan Nawaz sealed the victory with a boundary in the 12th over to send his team into the final.

Both teams’ quarterfinal matches had been washed out due to rain, making the semifinals their first matches of the Asian Games. India and Pakistan will now face each other for the first time at the Asian Games, with the gold medal at stake.

Match Details

Date: Saturday, October 3, 2026

Venue: Kurogai Sports Park, Nishin

India: Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer (captain), Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Thakur, Vipraj Nigam.

Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Majd Sadakat, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz, Abdul Samad, Arafat Minhas, Ahmed Daniyal, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Abrar Ahmed, Sufyan Muqeem, Saad Masood, Ali Raza, Aqif Javed, Haider Ali.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar