Nisshin, Oct 3 (IANS): Abhishek Sharma smashed the fastest fifty by an Indian against Pakistan in T20Is before Tilak Varma produced a blazing late assault as India overcame a sluggish surface to post 211/6 in 20 overs in the Asian Games men’s cricket gold-medal match against their arch-rivals at Korogi Sports Park on Saturday.
Abhishek reached his fifty in just 20 deliveries, bettering his own 24-ball effort against Pakistan in Dubai in 2025, while Tilak followed with a 21-ball fifty as the duo took India through contrasting phases of the innings.
Abhishek eventually made 61 off 28 balls, with three fours and seven sixes, while Tilak and Shivam Dube added 62 runs for the sixth wicket to give India a strong finish.
Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat first. India were asked to bat first, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi provided an explosive start before falling for 15 off 9 balls in the third over.
The 15-year-old left-hander tried a funky shot against Saim Ayub but got the gloves of the custodian. Soon after, Sanju Samson followed. He attempted to take on Ahmed Daniyal but ended up holed out to mid-on for another low score.
That brought Abhishek to the fore, and the southpaw immediately went on the offensive.
He was ruthless against the Pakistan attack in a brilliant powerplay and reached his fifty off just 20 deliveries. Abhishek’s knock ended in the eighth over when Arafat Minhas beat him, but by then he had put India firmly on top.
The opener scored 61 off 28 balls with three fours and seven sixes, and Pakistan also missed a few chances in his whirlwind stay.
But Pakistan did manage to choke them with spin for a while after Abhishek’s dismissal, making it tough for Shreyas Iyer (21 off 24 balls) and Ishan Kishan (20 off 18 balls) to find the same fluency.
Tilak and Dube, however, changed the complexion of the innings in the death overs.
The pair shifted gears effortlessly and launched a series of attacking shots, taking 12 runs off Abrar Ahmed in the 17th over, 18 runs off Sufyan Moqim in the 18th and 23 runs off Saim Ayub in the 19th.
Tilak reached his fifty from 21 balls, making it the second-fastest fifty for India against Pakistan in the format, behind only Abhishek’s 20-ball effort earlier in the day.
The 62-run stand between Tilak and Dube is the second-highest for the sixth wicket or lower in a 5-plus team T20I tournament final, only behind the 68* between Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews against the same opponent in the T20 World Cup 2009 final at Lord’s.
India’s total of 211/6 also marked the second instance of a full-member team scoring over 200 in a 5-plus team T20I tournament final, after India had posted 255/5 against New Zealand in the T20 WC 2026 final in Ahmedabad.
Abhishek’s assault also saw him join an elite list of Indian batters in T20I finals. His 7 sixes against Pakistan put him second on the list of most sixes for India in T20I finals, behind Sanju Samson’s 8 against New Zealand in Ahmedabad in 2026.
Tilak’s 4 sixes took him level with Virat Kohli, Axar Patel and Ishan Kishan among India’s leading six-hitters in T20I finals.
Brief scores: India 211/6 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 61, Tilak Varma 51 not out; Arafat Minhas 2-25, Ahmed Daniyal 2-43) against Pakistan.
