Abhishek Sharma’s breathtaking 61 off 28, Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 51 off 22 and an all-round effort from Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Shivam Dube helped India clinch back-to-back Asian Games gold medals in men’s cricket as they beat Pakistan by 19 runs in a thrilling final. Because it’s definitely an honour, something different for our players, i feel really happy for the players,. Two years back, we won in China, and again now. A lot of them have won the World Cup, but for many of them, this is the first time they’re winning the gold medal.
India head coach VVS Laxman described the team’s successful Asian Games title defence as a “special” achievement after the men’s cricket team beat Pakistan by 19 runs to win the gold medal in Nisshin, Japan on Saturday. I’m sure it’s a matter of great pride for all of them,” Laxman told reporters. “It’s definitely special, you know, to defend the gold medal.
But Pakistan were not going down without a fight and were powered by a magnificent 96 off 51 from Hasan Nawaz. But India’s spinners and all-rounders held their nerve in a frenzied finish, with Dube taking the wicket of Nawaz on the final ball to end Pakistan’s innings at 192 for 6 and sending the Indian players into wild celebrations. The Indian women’s team had also won a gold after beating Sri Lanka in the final.
