India beats Pakistan to clinch cricket gold at Asian Games; no handshakes yet

Nagoya, Oct. 4: Defending champion India continued its T20 dominance over archrival Pakistan with a 19-run victory to win the gold medal at the Asian Games men’s cricket event with players again avoiding customary handshakes Saturday.

Half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma (61) and Tilak Varma (51 not out) propelled India to its highest-ever total of 211-6 against its traditional rival in the T20 format.

Pakistan's batting cracked against disciplined Indian bowling and got restricted to 192-6.

Hasan Nawaz, who was dropped early in his innings, showed plenty of flare with a knock of 96 off 51 balls before getting caught behind of the final ball as India retained its gold.

It was India’s seventh straight win over Pakistan in T20s and fifth consecutive men’s game between the two bitter rivals where players didn’t shake hands — both before and after the game.

Sharma and Varma wound Pakistan

Left-handed Sharma struck a 20-ball half-century despite 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi getting out for 15 as Saim Ayub mocked the youngster with a “baby in the cradle” gesture after the dismissal.

Sooryavanshi tried to reverse sweep Ayub but was caught by wicketkeeper Usman Khan, who bobbled twice before completing the catch.

Pakistan, which went with five specialized bowlers plus Ayub’s offspin, surprisingly went with the option of part-timer Saad Masood in the second over that allowed Sharma to break free by smacking three sixes and a boundary in the 24-run over.