Asian Games: India to bat first against Pakistan in men's cricket gold medal clash

Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], October 3 (ANI): India won the toss and elected to bat first against arch-rivals Pakistan in the men's cricket gold medal match of the Asian Games 2026 at Nisshin on Saturday.
Indian captain Shreyas Iyer opted to bat after winning the toss in the high-profile final. The two captains came out for the toss but there were no handshakes between the sides, as per Cricinfo.
India have retained the same playing XI that featured in their 124-run semifinal victory over Sri Lanka, while Pakistan have also named an unchanged side from their semifinal win.
India will open with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma, with Sanju Samson, Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube completing the top and middle order. Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi and Jasprit Bumrah form the bowling options.
Pakistan will be led by Sahibzada Farhan, with Maaz Sadaqat, Usman Khan, Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz, Abdul Samad and Arafat Minhas among their batting options. Ahmed Daniyal, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Abrar Ahmed and Sufiyan Moqim complete their XI.
The final marks the first men's cricket meeting between India and Pakistan at the Asian Games.
Pakistan will look towards Farhan for another influential performance against India. The opener has two half-centuries in four T20I innings against India, averaging 38.75, while he has hit nine sixes against them, the most by a Pakistan batter in T20 internationals.
For India, Samson will be looking to make an impact against Pakistan after being dismissed for seven in the semifinal against Sri Lanka. Pakistan are the only opposition against whom Samson has a T20I strike rate below 100, although he has faced them only twice.
Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka secured the bronze medal after defeating Bangladesh by 63 runs in the third-place playoff.
Sri Lanka posted 165/9, powered by Tharindu Ratnayake's 65 off 32 balls, before bowling Bangladesh out for 102 in 17.3 overs. Ratnayake also claimed two wickets to complete an impressive all-round performance.
Ratnayake struck five sixes and seven fours and shared a 93-run sixth-wicket partnership with captain Sahan Arachchige off just 46 balls to revive Sri Lanka after their top order had struggled. (ANI)