Asian Games 2023| A very proud and emotional moment: Skipper Gaikwad

India players celebrate after winning gold on Saturday. Pic/AFP

In the end, Team India reigned after rain, but this is not to suggest for even a moment that the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Men in Blue did not deserve to win the gold medal at the Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field on Saturday.

After impressive performances in the quarter-final (beat Nepal by 23 runs) and semi-final (beat Bangladesh by nine wickets with 64 balls to spare), the Indians were looking good to restrict Afghanistan to around the 140-run mark in the final, which would have been gettable. Shahidullah Kamal was batting well for Afghanistan with an unbeaten 43-ball 49 (3x4, 2x6) with skipper Gulbadin Naib (27 not out) at the other end, when rain halted play with the score reading 112-5 after 18.2 overs. No further play was possible and as per the Asian Games rules here, the higher ranked team - India - were declared gold medal-winners since the match could not be completed.

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‘Confident of chasing'

Skipper Gaikwad was disappointed with the damp squib. "It was pretty disappointing in the end. We would have loved to have a full game and get a result through it. I think 150 was a pretty gettable target batting second because it's a small ground and the kind of batting we have, we were pretty confident of chasing it," said the Maharashtra player.

Named captain of an Indian team for the first time, Gaikwad admitted that it was a pressure posting. "Being an India captain is always a lot of pressure because everyone expects the ultimate prize wherever you go, so it comes with a lot of expectations. At the same time, you have to make sure you focus on your team and don't really think about the outcome of the game. You must give as much freedom as possible to the players and back them to play their best and fearless cricket," he said.

Finally, the gold medal around the neck felt unique and special, he said. "It feels good, very proud. Winning a medal is something we [cricketers] are not used to. It's a different feeling, very emotional for everyone," said the skipper after his team emulated the women's team's recent gold medal feat at the same venue.

Bangladesh stun Pakistan

Earlier, Bangladesh shocked Pakistan in the bronze medal match which was also rain-affected. Pakistan posted just 48-1 in five overs before rain halted play. Bangladesh were set a revised 65-run target under the DLS method, and with four runs needed off the last ball, Rakibul Hasan slammed spinner Sufiyan Muqeem over midwicket to ensure victory by six wickets and a deserving bronze.

Brief scores
Afghanistan 112-5 in 18.2 overs (Shahidullah 49', G Naib 27; S Dube 1-4, R Bishnoi 1-12, A Singh 1-17) v India (No result)