Table of Contents
The India vs Pakistan 2026 Asian Games final match for the men's cricket event went down to the wire as both teams fought brilliantly in the event decider. At the end of the day, it was the Shreyas Iyer-led team that had the last laugh, defending their first innings total.
Talking to the media, star Pakistan cricketer Hasan Nawaz has admitted that the defeat in the 2026 Asian Games final match still haunts them, as they went very close to claiming the gold medals. If they could defeat their arch rivals, that would be huge, especially given Pakistan's recent setbacks for the Pakistan National Cricket Team across the formats.
India won the 2026 Asian Games final, defeating Pakistan
Whether it was the Asia Cup or any other ICC tournaments, including the T20 World Cup, Pakistan failed to impress on every occasion in the recent past. They are already dismissed from the race in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle as well.
Amid repeated setbacks, the 2026 Asian Games arguably came as the brightest hope for the Men in Green to do some justice to their cricket legacy. However, the effort made by the team throughout the event, and the effort made by Hasan Nawaz in the final, went in vain when Pakistan fell short against their arch rivals, India.
I am still disappointed: Hasan Nawaz on the defeat against India
Hasan Nawaz stated that he is still disappointed with the loss in the Asian Games final in Japan. He claimed that his team fell short of claiming the gold medal due to the small mistakes they made during the match. The batter is satisfied with his personal knock in the medal decider, but ultimately the Pakistan cricket team finished as the runners-up.
In the final against India, Nawaz scored a 51-ball 96 while Pakistan needed to surpass India's first innings' 211/6 in 20 overs. The Indian bowlers restricted Pakistan to 192 runs in 20 overs.
"I am still disappointed and hurt at not being able to win the final. We made small mistakes,s and we paid the price for it. I am satisfied with my runs, but losing the final was disappointing because I really believed we could win the game," Nawaz said
"I was playing according to calculation and knew they were one bowler short at the end, with just one over from Bumrah remaining. But I think we made some mistakes in the run chase and lost," Nawaz added.
Hasan Nawaz vows to come back stronger
Looking forward, Hasan Nawaz vows to take lessons from the mistakes they made in the final match as Pakistan is scheduled to play a lot of matches in the near future. The lessons could help the team to evolve into a better team than before.
“I think the final is over now, and cricket and matches will continue. We will also continue to make mistakes, but I think to beat them we have to learn from our mistakes and become better," Nawaz said.
