India beat Pakistan by 19 runs on Saturday to win Asian Games cricket gold after a thrilling final in Nisshin, Japan.

The Green Shirts had to settle for silver, while Sri Lanka comprehensively beat Japan in an earlier fixture to secure bronze.

Unlike the previous encounter between the two sides during the T20 World Cup in February, this match wasn’t an entirely lopsided affair.

Pakistan started poorly with the ball, and coupled with some sensational hitting from India’s top order, the powerplay alone went for over 80 runs. However, the Green Shirts pulled things back in the middle overs, when a late surge by Tilak Verma and Shivam Dube took India over the 200 mark.

Viewers and fans had their opinions about Pakistan’s bowling performance and questions about some of the choices made by the captain and management.

And many were critical of the decision to bowl spin in the powerplay against an extremely robust Indian lineup of batters with world-class pedigree.

Pakistan’s early wobbles with the bat had them reeling to 39/2 in the powerplay, compared to India who were 81/2 at the same stage. With this further reduced to 42/3 at the end of the seventh over, it looked all but likely that this was set to be yet another one-sided capitulation of Pakistan.

However, the 87-run partnership between Saim Ayub and Hassan Nawaz, off 48 balls, provided some much-needed impetus in the chase for Pakistan. While Saim was not the fan favourite today, dropping two catches and playing a stodgy hand with the bat, many appreciated the fight shown by Hassan Nawaz.

Above anything, fans were particularly relieved that Pakistan showed some semblance of a “real fight” in front of a stronger opponent.

Hasan Nawaz also recorded the highest individual score for a Pakistani batter against India in T20 internationals, falling just 4 short of a century on the last ball of the match.

Some had a slightly more humorous way of looking at it.

However, a young team putting up a good fight is the sort of momentum the national team needs in its T20-rebuild, with many calling for this side to become Pakistan’s first XI in the format.

Pakistan’s next meeting with India will likely be in the Asia Cup in June 2027, ahead of the 50-over World Cup and where the two sides will meet at the Wanderers Stadium in South Africa on October 10, 2027.