10 Moments That Defined India's Asian Games Cricket Final Win Over Pakistan
India Pakistan Asian Games Final: From Saim Ayub’s “cradling the baby” celebration to the no-handshakes finish, here are the 10 moments that stood out as India beat Pakistan by 19 runs for Asian Games gold.
By North Desk Bureau
India beat Pakistan by 19 runs at Nagoya on Saturday to retain their Asian Games cricket gold, but the scoreline alone doesn’t capture what made this final memorable. From a controversial celebration to a standoff that never happened, here are the moments that stood out.
India Pakistan Asian Games Final Moments
1. The reverse sweep that changed the tone of the innings
India Pakistan Asian Games Final: India’s 15-year-old opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who has made a habit of unsettling bowling attacks before a ball is even bowled, got off to a flier — two sixes inside his first five balls, one over square, one over long-on. Just as the opening stand threatened to run away from Pakistan, Sooryavanshi attempted a reverse sweep off Saim Ayub on a back-of-a-length delivery and edged behind to Usman Khan, out for 15 off 9. His senior partner Abhishek Sharma looked visibly unimpressed with the shot selection.
2. Saim Ayub’s “cradling the baby” celebration
India Pakistan Asian Games Final: Saim Ayub didn’t hold back after removing India’s teenage prodigy, making a cradling gesture toward the pavilion as Sooryavanshi walked off — a pointed reference to his age. It was the single most talked-about moment of the match.
3. India’s deliberate non-response
What stood out as much as the celebration itself was India’s reaction to it: nothing. No send-off, no retaliation, no verbal exchange. It was a conscious departure from recent India-Pakistan cricket history — during the 2025 Asia Cup, Haris Rauf’s celebrations against Indian batters drew sharp responses from the Indian camp, which eventually led to sanctions for players on both sides. This time, the Indian team simply let the cricket do the talking.
4. No handshakes, before or after
India Pakistan Asian Games Final: In keeping with the pattern of recent India-Pakistan cricket fixtures, neither side offered a handshake. Pakistan’s players, after the match, shook hands only with the on-field umpires before returning to their dressing room without any interaction with the Indian team. India made no attempt to approach their counterparts either.
The toss itself was conducted away from the pitch, with television crews waiting separately at the centre — a small sign of how deliberately the two camps kept their distance throughout.
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5. The awkward medal-ceremony photograph
India Pakistan Asian Games Final: The only genuinely unscripted moment of the day came during the podium group photo. With India positioned in the centre, Pakistan were meant to stand on one side and bronze medallists Sri Lanka on the other — but the Pakistani players appeared unsure where to position themselves, stepped down from the podium, and the Sri Lankans followed suit.
Both teams eventually re-assembled in front of the Indian contingent for the photograph instead.
6. Jay Shah’s presence, and Mohsin Naqvi’s absence
India Pakistan Asian Games Final: ICC chairman and former BCCI secretary Jay Shah handed India their gold medals, while a senior Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organising Committee (AINAGOC) official presented Pakistan’s silver. Asian Cricket Council president Mohsin Naqvi — who is also Pakistan’s interior minister — was absent, citing prior commitments, a decision that may have quietly defused what could have become a bigger flashpoint given the context below.
7. The unresolved trophy standoff looming in the background
Naqvi has been at the centre of a prolonged standoff with the BCCI over Asia Cup trophy presentations, after India’s teams refused to accept their trophies directly from him, in a show of solidarity with the Indian defence forces following Operation Sindoor last year.
The impasse has now run through two tournaments — the 2025 men’s Asia Cup and this year’s women’s edition — with both Indian teams walking away without their trophies after the BCCI’s request for a different presenter was turned down. Against that backdrop, Naqvi’s absence from Saturday’s final meant the Asian Games gold-medal ceremony passed off without a repeat of that controversy.
8. Hasan Nawaz’s lone fight for Pakistan
Chasing 212, Pakistan’s effort was built almost entirely around one innings: Hasan Nawaz’s 96 off 51 balls, studded with 5 fours and 7 sixes at a strike rate of over 188. It was comfortably the best individual performance of the match on either side and kept Pakistan within touching distance of an upset, even in a losing cause.
9. Tilak Varma’s unbeaten finish set up the total
India Pakistan Asian Games Final: After Sooryavanshi’s early fall and Sanju Samson’s cheap dismissal, Tilak Varma played the key hand lower down the order, finishing unbeaten on 51 off just 22 balls at a strike rate above 230, alongside Abhishek Sharma’s 61 off 28. Between them, the two innings powered India from a shaky start to a match-winning 211/6.
10. India complete the cricket double
With the win, Shreyas Iyer’s team ensured India swept both cricket golds at these Asian Games — following the women’s team’s own gold-medal triumph earlier in the competition. It’s India’s second successive men’s cricket gold at the Games, after their 2023 Hangzhou win under Ruturaj Gaikwad.
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