‘Sign of a champion team’: Shreyas Iyer reveals how India turned rain-hit Asian Games campaign into gold

Shreyas Iyer-led India successfully defended its Asian Games title with a victory over Pakistan. | Photo Credit: PTI

India captain Shreyas Iyer said the team’s refusal to complain about a disrupted build-up to the Asian Games final was a sign of a “champion team” after it beat Pakistan by 19 runs to retain the men’s cricket gold medal on Saturday.

India’s preparations were heavily affected by rain. The team arrived in Japan on September 20, played a five-over-a-side game in Sano on September 22 and travelled to Nagoya thereafter. Its quarterfinal against Afghanistan on September 28 was washed out, while India had its first proper training session only ahead of its semifinal against Sri Lanka on October 1.

Iyer said the squad chose to adapt rather than make excuses.

“If have to use a word, I would say ecstatic. Since the day we arrived in Japan, it was raining cats and dogs and we couldn’t practise for almost a week. But the boys, the way they prepped themselves and also we were doing our training on the side. We didn’t complain, we didn’t give any reason,” Iyer said after the final.

“So that was a sign of a champion itself, champion team. And today was just a reflection of that.”

India posted 211 for six before restricting Pakistan to 192 for six. Iyer praised the team’s collective effort, highlighting Abhishek Sharma’s start, Tilak Varma’s finish and the contributions of Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah.

On Pakistan’s Hasan Nawaz taking the chase deep, Iyer said India focused on managing its bowling overs and waited for a wicket to swing the momentum.

“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,” he added.

Published on Oct 03, 2026

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