The Indian men's cricket team retained the gold medal in the Asian Games. They defeated arch-rivals Pakistan by 19 runs in a thrilling final. However, Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson said that this gold did not come easily to them and they had to work hard for it. He clarified that they were able to overcome the pressure in the final match against Pakistan only because they brought in an 'A' team with experienced players.

After this victory, Sanju Samson said.. "We are a very experienced team. Even when there is no practice or match, we know how to motivate ourselves and how to maintain our energy. Bringing the 'A' team to the Asian Games really came together. That's what happened in the final against Pakistan. It felt like a perfect match for everyone," he explained.

Batting first, India scored a huge score of 211 runs for 6 wickets in the stipulated overs with Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Verma scoring brilliant half-centuries. Later, Pakistan also fought hard in chasing the target. They played aggressively on a pitch that was suitable for batting and made the match exciting till the end. However, due to the collective performance of the Indian bowlers, Pakistan was limited to 192 runs for the loss of 6 wickets.

"Finally, we got a chance to play a good match. After we scored 200 runs, we thought it would be difficult for Pakistan to chase. But, they also played well because the wicket was good. The audience got a chance to watch a good final. This gold did not come easily to us. It gave us more satisfaction because we worked hard to achieve it. We are all very happy," said Sanju. 

Sanju clarified that it was a great opportunity to represent the country in the Asian Games final, but once the game started, they played according to the conditions and did not let the pressure get to them.