The final of the Asian Games Men’s Cricket Competition saw team India take on Afghanistan at the Zhejiang University of Technology Cricket Field in Hangzhou on Saturday, October 7. Led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, India performed brilliantly in the knockout stages as they made it to the summit clash of the competition.
Taking on Afghanistan in the final for the gold medal, the clash began with India winning the toss and opting to field first. As Afghanistan came out to bat, the side got off to a horrid start as openers Zubaid Akbari and Mohammad Shahzad were sent back to the pavilion for just five and four runs, respectively.
Furthermore, Noor Ali Zadran’s dismissal for just one run added more to Afghanistan’s misery. After the top-order’s failure to go big, Shahidullah played a resilient knock to bring the side back on track. Scoring 49* runs in 43 deliveries, the batter stayed at the crease, unbeaten.
Afsar Zazai added 15 runs on the board as well, with skipper Gulbadin Naib scoring 27 runs. Afghanistan had managed to post a total of 112 runs on the board before rain came knocking down.
The Indian bowlers did a commendable job of keeping Afghanistan limited as well. Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube, Shahbaz Ahmed, and Ravi Bishnoi took one wicket each and made sure that they got breakthroughs at regular intervals.
However, as rain played spoilsport in the clash, the game was abandoned with no result. Having scored 112 runs on the board, the clash was washed out, and due to the rain, Afghanistan bagged silver.
The washout meant ecstasy for India as they won the gold medal due to the side having a higher seeding than Afghanistan. Despite the game producing no result, Afghanistan had to settle for a silver medal. As India won yet another gold medal in the Asian Games, social media was set alight as many fans took to Twitter to congratulate the team on securing another gold.
Here’s how Twitter reacted India winning the gold medal:
Ruturaj Gaikwad led India has won GOLD in Asian Games. That’s it. That’s the tweet.#TeamIndia #RuturajGaikwad #INDvAFG #AFGvIND #AsianGames pic.twitter.com/FFueDCTJjQ
— Sharon Solomon (@BSharan_6) October 7, 2023
Cricket me INDIA ne Jeeta Gold 🥇
Baarish ki wajah se match abandoned ho gya.
ICC ranking ke niyam ke anusar Indian team Afghanistan se aage hai isliye India ko Mila gold. #IndvAfg pic.twitter.com/1IH5C5VpEm
— Abhishek Kumar (@abhishekumar_18) October 7, 2023
Congratulations, #TeamIndia, for WINNING Gold Medal in #Cricket in #AsianGames
RAIN Washed out the FINALE; India won on the basis of higher seeding
Afghanistan played well, too, in reaching the finale defeating Sri Lanka and Pakistan👏#IndvAfg #IndvsAfg #AsianGames22 pic.twitter.com/TAPWEKaJjc— Praneet Samaiya (@praneetsamaiya) October 7, 2023
#INDvAFG: The match has been called off due to rain, and India has been declared the gold medal winner at the Asian Games 2023#AsianGames2023 #AsianGames23 #AsianGames2023medals #AbkiBaar100Paar #Cheer4India pic.twitter.com/1xE0UYUTEX
— Vinay Upadhyay (@vinay_sir_ji) October 7, 2023
Much deserved Gold medal in Asian games Cricket beating in a rain-curtailed incremental weather match.#AsianGames #INDvsAFG #INDvAFG #AsianGamesindia #AsianGames23 #AsianGames22 pic.twitter.com/nhtSTAixHp
— Deshraj Singh (@DeshrajH) October 7, 2023
The match gets abandoned.
Between Ind vs Afg.India wins First Ever Gold medal in #AsianGames23 as they are the higher seeds.
Marvelous Performance by #TeamIndia
27 GOLD 🥇 FOR INDIA #AsianGames2022 #HangzhouAsianGames #INDvsAFG #IssBaar100Paar #IndiaAtAG22#IndvAfg pic.twitter.com/fnISeghay5
— Amit 🇮🇳 💙 (@imamitshekand) October 7, 2023
🇮🇳💙🧢🔥
#INDvAFG— Ramesh (@rameshuuuuuuuu) October 7, 2023
🪙#INDvAFG pic.twitter.com/yB8d20dl45
— Kishore Bardhan (@KishoreBardhan) October 7, 2023
#INDvAFG: The match has been called off due to rain, and India has been declared the gold medal winner at the Asian Games 2023#AsianGames2023
— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) October 7, 2023
INDIA WIN GOLD MEDAL IN CRICKET 🇮🇳 #INDvAFG #GoldMedal#AsianGames #AsianGames23 #AsianGames2023 pic.twitter.com/sQW8ZC5zrw
— Aditya (@Perrry48) October 7, 2023
From the crease to the podium, our Indian cricket team’s journey ends with a golden finish! 🏆🥇
What a fantastic win at the #AsianGames.
Congratulations boys! 🥳🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/5jAE68fs72— DK (@DineshKarthik) October 7, 2023
Heartiest congratulations to the Men’s Cricket Team for winning Gold at the Asian Games.#AsianGames
— Anil Kumble (@anilkumble1074) October 7, 2023
A big congratulations to our Men’s Cricket team for their amazing performance at the Asian Games. Congratulations to all the players!#AsianGames
— Cheteshwar Pujara (@cheteshwar1) October 7, 2023
