Shreyas Iyer-led India defeated Sahibzada Farhan's Pakistan in the 2026 Asian Games final to retain the gold medal. Opting to bat first, India put on a big
total of 211/6 on the board. Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma shone with the bat and slammed half-centuries. Shivam Dube also played his part and scored a quick 27 off 15 balls. Dube also delivered with the ball and scalped two wickets for 33 runs in three overs. The pace-bowling all-rounder bowled the last over of Pakistan's innings and propelled India to a win. Following India's gold medal win, Dube exclusively spoke to Sports Now and dedicated the medal win to the country. Excerpts: Sports Now: Shivam, how does it feel to win the gold medal, to fight for a gold medal? It's, I'm assuming, very different from playing in an ICC tournament or a World Cup? Shivam: It's not different. Like World Cup, Asia Cup, and this, totally it's different, you can't match everything. Yes, so this is also like that only, and it is very precious to us, and we are really happy to defend. Sports Now: Playing against Pakistan, there's always pressure against any opponent, but Pakistan just becomes an extra bit more special because the fans also are there in huge numbers, and they also have a lot of expectations. So just how was that playing Pakistan today in the final of the Asian Games? Shivam: I think fans are always there with us. We are very grateful that they always support us, wherever we play, they are always there, and to support us, it feels great. It's not about Pakistan game, it's about last game as well. When we played against Sri Lanka, the fans were there, they supported us. Today, also the same situation, so I don't feel much pressure in any of the games. Yeah, but to defend the title, yes, you have to work really hard for that.
Sports Now: And some of your shots today were very spectacular, to say the least, and you know, the partnership with Tilak there as well. So what wasjust the conversation like there in the middle, and what were you talking to each other, just having fun out there?
Shivam: We have played a lot of cricket together, so we know what we both can do. So we were not thinking about what the score would be. Yes, the score was there in the mind, but yes, he was telling me about the wicket, about the bowler. If I have any new thought about it, so even I was telling him. So we were focusing on every ball, so we could do it better.
Sports Now: And Shivam, Japan is not necessarily a cricket country, if we can say that. So to come here and first play a T20, then be a part of the Asian Games as well, what did you think about playing cricket here, and do you think cricket can also grow here, because we were seeing a lot of uh, you know, Japanese people here also coming to support uh the Indian team with their uh Indian friends?
Shivam: Definitely, cricket will grow in the future. I think they have made the ground, the facilities is amazing, and yeah, we really enjoyed it. Yeah, it was difficult for us because whenever we wanted to practice, it was raining, buuh as our coach and captain said thatas a team, we have played a lot of cricket, we have a lot of experience, so mentally we should prepare ourselves for what we can do.
Sports Now: And you know, coming back to my first question, you said that you play cricket in a World Cup, you play cricket here, but I just wanted to understand the feeling of getting that uh gold medal. It's not necessarily that cricketers get a medal, so is that a little different from, you know, getting that trophy?
Shivam: Yeah, definitely, it's a different feeling. But you can't compare all those things, because whatever you do, you do for your country. So that is more important for us. BCCI supports us a lot. So whatever we do, we do for our country, we are proud of that.
Sports Now: To whom would you like to dedicate this medal?
Shivam: To my country. I feel there is no one ahead of them, so I will dedicate it to my country. And because whatever I'm able to do, I'm able to do because of the BCCI, because without their support, the great facilities and everything that we got, they provided all of that. So yes, this medal goes to my country.
Sports Now: And what does it mean to play for India—to wear that jersey, to watch our flag go up, to hear the national anthem, knowing we won the gold medal and that's why our national anthem is playing? It usually plays when we play other tournaments, but here it only plays when we win gold.
Shivam: That is a completely different feeling. Ever since I was young, I used to watch the Asian Games and the Olympics. So to be able to do that again for the country makes me feel very proud.
Sports Now: Are you excited for the Olympics as well? Cricket is in LA now, and there will be high expectations from India there too.
Shivam: Definitely excited, but it is very far away. Right now, there is the West Indies series, so playing that is more important.
