Watch: Saim Ayub's celebration on dismissing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in IND vs PAK Asian Games 2026 Gold Medal match

Having won their respective semifinal clashes of the Asian Games 2026, India and Pakistan met each other during the final of the competition for the Gold Medal clash at the Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin. It was anticipated to be a vital and exciting encounter between the two neighbouring teams, as Saim Ayub’s celebration on dismissing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi went viral.  

India’s captain, Shreyas Iyer, won the toss, and as expected, he decided to bat first on a surface which was full of cracks as the spinners were able to turn the ball sharply off the deck. They went with an unchanged playing XI.

Saim Ayub removes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for 15 with Usman Khan taking the catch

It was the first delivery of the third over of the innings as Saim Ayub came into the attack. He pushed the delivery through quicker and put it just outside the off stump as Vaibhav Sooryavanshi shaped himself to play the reverse sweep.

Watch Saim Ayub's celebration here- 

However, the left-handed batter was not able to get the balance right and got an under-edge on its way to the wicket-keeper. The wicket-keeper, Usman Khan, fumbled a few times as the ball popped up off his chest. Finally, after a few juggles, he managed to hold the catch.

See Also: India beat Sri Lanka by 124 runs at Asian Games 2026 semi-final

Sooryavanshi was dismissed for 15 runs off nine balls with the help of two sixes. But as he was leaving, Ayub gave him the ‘babysitting’ celebration with his arms, which the current West Indies head coach, Darren Sammy, used to do.

How India started vs Pakistan in the Asian Games 2026 Gold Medal match

After a quiet over to start the innings, India smashed 24 runs in the second over thanks to Suryavanshi’s third-ball six while Abhishek Sharma nailed a six and a boundary. The southpaw was dismissed for 15 runs, while Abhishek continued his onslaught with a six and two consecutive boundaries in the third over.

The Punjab-born hammered Ahmed Daniyal for another six over the long-on region before hammering the pull over the deep square leg region. He smashed 100 sixes in the second fewest balls (651) in a calendar year of 2026. He was finally dismissed for 61 runs off 28 balls with three boundaries and seven sixes.

See Also: Why Mohsin Naqvi will miss India vs Pakistan Asian Games final

Brief Scores: India 118/3 (Abhishek Sharma 61, Saim Ayub 1/19) vs Pakistan