India defeats Pakistan in the men's cricket final of the 2026 Asian Games, defending gold medal

In the men's T20I semi-final at the Asian Games on Thursday, the Indian team secured a convincing victory over Sri Lanka with a score of 124 runs. This win is the largest margin between two full member teams in a T20I semi-final or final. Sri Lanka was eliminated after scoring only 45 runs, which was the lowest total score among full member teams in a T20I.

During the match, Sri Lanka managed five wickets and nine players scored single-digit totals.

India also updated its T20I record, achieving eleven victories with more than 100 runs scored.

On Saturday, India will play the gold medal match against Pakistan, scheduled for 10 am Indian time. Meanwhile, the bronze medal match will take place on the same day between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, starting at 5:30 am Indian time. In case of a rain interruption, medals will be shared between the teams, unlike previous competitions where they were awarded based on rankings.

After earning the first bat, Ishan Kishan took the initiative, scoring 80 not out runs off 46 balls, including 4 fours and 5 sixes. Opener Vaibhavi Suryawanshi also showed strong performance, scoring 38 runs off 21 balls. Thanks to these performances, India managed to score 169 runs.

For Sri Lanka, wickets were taken by Sahan Arachchige (2/28) and Tharindu Ratnake (2/32). Wanindu Sana (1/17), Nuwanindu Fernando (1/20), and Lasith Cruspulle (1/25) also took wickets.

Sri Lanka's attempt to chase the target was unsuccessful against the Indian bowlers. Nuwanindu Fernando was the only player from the team to score more than ten runs, making 15 runs. Five players could not even score one run.

Indian bowlers registered the following figures: Jasprit Bumrah (2/7), Axar Patel (2/8), Abhishek Sharma (2/2), and Washington Sundar (1/18).

The victory by 124 runs is the largest victory between two full member teams in any men's T20I tournament semi-final or final. Previously, this record belonged to India, which defeated New Zealand by 96 runs in the T20 World Cup 2026 final in Ahmedabad.

For Sri Lanka, this is the second-largest defeat in T20I terms regarding runs scored; their biggest defeat was in 2019 against Australia in Adelaide, with a margin of 134 runs. Additionally, in 2026, England beat Sri Lanka in Southampton by 119 runs.

In the Sri Lankan innings, nine batsmen were dismissed with single-digit scores. This is the second-highest statistic among all full member teams in T20I. The record belongs to the West Indies team, which has ten such players. In the T20 World Cup 2009 semi-final against Sri Lanka, ten West Indies batsmen were dismissed with single-digit scores, while Chris Gayle remained not out with 63 runs.

The fact that Sri Lanka was bowled out for 45 runs was also a negative record. Along with the West Indies, which was bowled out for 45 runs against England in 2019, Sri Lanka now shares this record as the lowest score in T20I among full member teams.

Regarding the maximum number of wickets in a single T20I match among full member teams, the record belongs to Zimbabwe with six wickets. Among full member teams, there is a tie with five wickets for New Zealand against Pakistan, England against India, and Sri Lanka against India.

On Saturday, India will face Pakistan in the gold medal match, starting at 10 am. Before that, the bronze medal match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will take place at 5:30 am. As mentioned earlier, in case of weather delays, medals will be distributed between the teams, rather than by ranking, as was the case last time. However, the weather forecast for both matches currently looks favorable.

India has also demonstrated its dominance in T20I matches, winning 11 games with 100 or more runs scored. Canada has 10 such wins, Austria has 9, while Zimbabwe, Nepal, Japan, Malaysia, and Uganda have 8 such wins each. Pakistan and England are among the teams with six such wins.

Indian squash players demonstrated outstanding results at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, qualifying for the semi-finals. Abhay Singh and Anahat Singh won their semi-final matches, guaranteeing India at least a silver medal.

Abhay Singh, who holds a gold medal from the Asian Championships, defeated Mohammed Irfan of Pakistan in the men's singles category. He won with a score of 3-0 in sets. Abhay maintained control of the match from the beginning, winning the first set 11-3. In the second set, Irfan from Pakistan created serious competition, but Abhay remained calm and won the set 12-10, increasing his lead to 2-0.

In the third set, the Indian athlete once again asserted his dominance, winning 11-6 and securing his place in the final.

Meanwhile, in the women's singles category, Anahat Singh played a tense match against Satomi Watanabe of Japan, winning 3-2. Anahat initially lost the first set 9-11, and in the second set, she trailed 11-13. However, after this, the Indian athlete made an impressive comeback, winning the third set 12-10.

Subsequently, Anahat Singh leveled the score at 2-2, winning the fourth set 11-6. In the decisive fifth set, she gave Satomi Watanabe no chance and won the set 11-3, advancing to the final. This victory made Anahat Singh the first Indian woman to reach the final of the women's singles squash event at the Asian Games. Abhay Singh's victory also sustains hopes of winning gold in the men's singles category.

Now both Indian athletes will advance to the final, where they will have a chance to win a gold medal for India at the Asian Games. Winning gold qualifies both players for the Los Angeles Olympics.

The Indian women's cricket team once again demonstrated its dominance at the continental level, securing its second consecutive gold medal at the Asian Games. On Tuesday, in the final, the team crushed long-time rivals Sri Lanka with a score of 147 runs.

The gold medal, won by the team under Harmanpreet Kaur's leadership, was India's first of the current tournament. The victory was secured by a brilliant batting performance that forced Sri Lanka to chase a record target of 217 runs.

Smriti Mandhana played brilliantly, scoring 79 runs off 45 balls, while Richa Ghosh added powerful late-over hits, taking India's score to 216 for three wickets. This set a new record for the Asian Games.

After reaching this record total, the outcome of the match became clear. All hopes for Sri Lanka rested on captain Chamari Atapattu (29 runs off 21 balls), but she could not counter the Indians. Sri Lanka capitulated, scoring only 69 runs across all overs, which took 15.4 overs, as the Indian spinners completely controlled the game against them.

Shafali Verma showed versatile play, scoring 48 runs and taking 2.3 wickets, while Dipti Sharma (3 wickets for 6 balls) and Shri Charani (2 wickets) traditionally helped the team in the final, which was not an even contest.

India was considered the clear favorite for the title and lived up to expectations, securing three confident victories throughout the competition. Similar to the Asia Cup earlier this month, Sri Lanka found itself in the losing position in the final, unable to compete with their familiar rivals.

Pakistan won the bronze medal by defeating Bangladesh with a comfortable margin of 31 runs earlier that day. Since the scenario for the Indian women's team unfolded according to plan, it was expected that the men's team would also defend its title.

The team maximized the advantages of powerplay after winning the draw. Mandhana (79 runs off 45 balls) and Shafali (48 runs off 29 balls) took the team to 59 without loss in six overs. Both batters are in excellent form since the Asia Cup, making a significant contribution to the team's success in the decisive final by building a partnership of 99 runs off 60 balls. Sri Lanka's weak bowling allowed these batters to dictate the terms of the game, with both being extremely effective against the spinners.