India Opt to Bat Against Pakistan in Asian Games Gold Medal Clash

India won the toss and elected to bat first against Pakistan in the men's cricket gold medal match at the Asian Games on Saturday.

The final marks the seventh meeting between India and Pakistan in the final of a major tournament involving five or more teams. The head-to-head record in those previous finals stands evenly at 3-3.

India have retained the same playing XI that defeated Sri Lanka in the semi-final. The team has backed its strong batting depth, with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan all included. The presence of several allrounders gives India batting options deep into the order, with their spin-heavy combination also suited to the conditions in Nisshin.

Jasprit Bumrah is the only frontline fast bowler in India's XI, while Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar add further spin options.

Pakistan have also opted for a spin-heavy combination and made one change from their semi-final victory over Bangladesh. Legspin-bowling allrounder Saad Masood was handed his T20I debut, replacing seamer Mohammad Wasim Jr. However, the official XI listed for the match features Ahmed Daniyal as Pakistan's sole specialist seam option.

At the toss, India captain Shreyas Iyer and Pakistan captain Sahibzada Farhan did not shake hands, continuing the recent trend in matches between the two sides.

Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka secured the bronze medal after an impressive all-round performance from Tharindu Ratnayake helped them defeat Bangladesh.

Playing XIs

India: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shreyas Iyer (capt), Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah.

Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan (capt), Maaz Sadaqat, Usman Khan (wk), Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz, Abdul Samad, Arafat Minhas, Ahmed Daniyal, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Abrar Ahmed, Sufiyan Moqim.