Who: India vs Pakistan What: Asian Games 2026, men’s cricket final gold medal match Where: Korogi Athletic Park, Nisshin, Japan When: Saturday, October 3, 1:30pm local (04:30 GMT) How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the build-up and live updates from 02:30 GMT.
Cricket’s biggest rivalry will be renewed this weekend as India take on Pakistan in the Asian Games men’s cricket final, with the elusive gold medal at stake.
Saturday’s blockbuster clash, played in the Twenty20 format, will be held at Korogi Athletic Park in Nisshin, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
India will defend their Hangzhou 2023 title, while Pakistan eye their first gold, having won bronze at Guangzhou 2010.
India’s Men in Blue can complete a cricket double in Aichi-Nagoya after the Indian women’s team clinched gold at the start of the Games, thrashing Sri Lanka in the final.
Al Jazeera tells you everything to know about India vs Pakistan:
India and Pakistan last met in a T20 World Cup group-stage match in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on February 15.
India won that match by 61 runs, with Ishan Kishan’s 77 off 40 guiding them to victory.
The last time Pakistan defeated India in T20Is dates back to September 4, 2022.
Pakistan beat India by five wickets in that Asia Cup semifinal, as Mohammad Rizwan top-scored with 71.
As two of the four seeded teams, both India and Pakistan directly qualified for the quarterfinals at the Asian Games 2026.
India’s quarterfinal against Afghanistan was abandoned due to rain, and World No 1 India proceeded to the semifinals due to their higher seeding, determined by the ICC T20I team rankings.
In the semis, India thrashed Sri Lanka by 124 runs, dismissing their opponents for 45 in 9. 5 overs.
As for Pakistan, their quarterfinal tie with Hong Kong, China was also washed out, and they advanced to the semifinals in the same fashion.
World No 6 Pakistan clinched a six-wicket win over Bangladesh in their semifinal clash, which was reduced to 13 overs due to a wet outfield.
Rain has disrupted much of the cricket competition in Aichi-Nagoya.
If Saturday’s final is abandoned due to rain, India and Pakistan will share the gold medal.
This is different from what happened at Hangzhou 2023 – India were awarded the gold due to higher ranking after their last edition’s final with Afghanistan was washed out.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ishan Kishan (India): India’s 15-year-old batting prodigy Sooryavanshi is undoubtedly one of the best players to watch out for across all sports at the ongoing games. The big-hitting opener scored 38 runs in the semifinals, smashing six fours and two sixes. Middle-order batter Kishan’s unbeaten 80 off 46 balls was, however, the highlight of that match, with his incredible five sixes adding extra entertainment.
Sufyan Moqim and Abdul Samad (Pakistan): Left-arm wrist-spin bowler Moqim was the pick of Pakistani bowlers in their semifinal victory, bagging three wickets by conceding 26 runs in three overs. Samad, on the other hand, dazzled with the bat, scoring a quickfire, unbeaten 30 off 15 balls, smashing five fours and a six.
Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Vipraj Nigam, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Thakur, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Abdul Samad (vice-captain), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Sufyan Moqim, Usman Khan (wicket-keeper)
Cricket is making its fourth appearance at the Asian Games.
The sport debuted at Guangzhou 2010 and returned at Incheon 2014 before being left out of the programme for Jakarta 2018.
As of Friday, 7:30 GMT, India are sixth and Pakistan are 34th in the Asian Games medal tally.
The Asian Games cricket final between India and Pakistan will be telecast or streamed live on the following platforms worldwide: