India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bat first against Pakistan in the Men's Cricket Final at Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026. The highly anticipated gold medal clash is going to be played at Karogi Sports Park, when both teams will be looking to take the top prize.
The toss added another layer of suspense to an already busy India-Pakistan match. Iyer decided to put runs on the board first after winning the toss and put India’s batting unit in charge and put pressure on Pakistan when they chase.
Team India went into the final with an unchanged playing XI. Arshdeep Singh, Yash Thakur and Vipraj Nigam were among the players left on the bench as the management kept the combination that had brought the side to the gold medal match.
India has many players capable of making a big impact in the final. Also young opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has drawn much attention while Abhishek Sharma is another aggressive batsman at the top of the order. Sanju Samson will keep wickets with Shreyas Iyer the No. 4 player.
Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube add to India’s middle order depth. The side has a solid all-round core to it as well with Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, who can also contribute with both bat and ball.
India’s bowling attack is led by experienced campaigner Jasprit Bumrah. Ravi Bishnoi is the main spin option along with Axar Patel and Washington Sundar giving India a diverse attack for the final.
The team will be trying to take advantage of batting first and create a competitive total. With Pakistan having lots of aggressive batters, at this early stage of the game we expect India to be able to score quick enough to keep wickets.
Pakistan have picked a strong playing XI for the gold medal match. Captain Sahibzada Farhan leads the side, with Maaz Sadaqat and Usman Khan to provide the support at the top. Usman Khan will be behind the stumps also.
Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz and Abdul Samad form a crucial part of Pakistan's batting group, while Saad Masood and Arafat Minhas add more depth. Ahmed Daniyal, Abrar Ahmed and Sufyan Moqi are the bowling department.
India’s and Pakistan’s final will contain two teams with so much experience and firepower. For India, the challenge will be to establish control during the first innings after they won the toss. Pakistan will want their bowlers to strike early and prevent India’s top order from settling into a rhythm.
Much of the attention will still be on India’s star names at the helm. Bumrah is the bowling leader and Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson have great batting experience too. The presence of young players such as Vaibhav Sooryavanshi adds some excitement to India's line-up.
With the Asian Games gold medal at stake every phase of the contest will be important. India has decided to set a target whereas Pakistan will have the chance to respond with the bat later in the match.
The final is likely to be one of the most closely watched cricket matches of Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026. With India batting first and both teams with the strongest combinations available, it will be a decision either way which team wins the gold medal in men's cricket.
India Playing XI: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (w), Shreyas Iyer (c), Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah.
Pakistan Playing XI: Sahibzada Farhan (c), Maaz Sadaqat, Usman Khan (wk), Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz, Abdul Samad, Saad Masood, Arafat Minhas, Ahmed Daniyal, Abrar Ahmed, Sufyan Moqi.
