India vs Pakistan, Asian Games 2026: Shreyas Iyer & Co. meet arch-rival in clash for gold

Shreyas Iyer is leading a star-studded Indian team in the Asian Games 2026. | Photo Credit: PTI

India’s odyssey to defend its Asian Games cricket gold will mark its last turn when it takes on arch-rival Pakistan in the final match at the Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin on Saturday.

The Shreyas Iyer-led side will start favourite given India has sent a near-complete T20I side to Japan with its ODI squad taking a hit to put out a first choice playing XI in the simultaneously held West Indies series.

The star-studded lineup which includes the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Abhishek Sharma, teen prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson, hasn’t had a bad day yet in the land of rising sun.

While its quarterfinal encounter was washed out and pre-seeding helped it get into the semifinal where Sri Lanka turned out to be a no match for the T20 World Cup champion.

The pitch did make Indians think. It wasn’t on the flatter side, making a 200-plus score out of reach. Regular wickets against Sri Lankan spinners kept batters in check. Only Sooryavanshi and Ishan Kishan seemed to have figured out a way to hit through the line despite the slowness on the surface.

Also read | Asian-Games-2026 India medal tally tracker

India had also opted to play only Bumrah as a pacer in the playing XI and it turned out to be a correct decision as the batters from the island nation couldn’t play more than 10 overs and were bundled out for mere 45.

For Pakistan, the semifinal against Bangladesh was a tad bit close one. There was rain which meant the Sahibzada Farhan-led side had to chase down 112 inside 13 overs. It did, with an over to spare, thanks to Hasan Nawaz and Abdul Samad’s finish.

Pakistan has also sent a relatively inexperienced team but in T20s, there’s always a chance for an upset. And with the side entering its first-ever Asian Games final, and that too against India, the motivation would be high as well.

With the sun expected to shine bright, Indians would be hoping to glitter it with gold and build on to the medal tally.