Rain took the last day in Nisshin, and India open their Asian Games defence against Afghanistan
Nepal and Malaysia top their groups after two washouts, which sets up a rematch of the rain-ruined 2023 final in Monday’s quarter-final.
Sep 26, 2026
Nobody bowled a ball in Nisshin on Saturday afternoon, and only one side got to bat in the morning. Rain decided the last day of the Asian Games men’s cricket group stage, and when it cleared the draw was set: India, the defending champions, start their campaign against Afghanistan in the quarter-finals on Monday.
It is the same pairing as the final in Hangzhou three years ago. That one never finished either. Afghanistan were 112 for 5 after 18.2 overs when rain ended it, and India took gold as the higher-ranked side.
Nepal got their runs in first
Nepal were put in by Japan at Korogi Athletic Park and made 149 for 4 from their 15 overs. Sundeep Jora finished on 57 not out from 32 balls, with five fours and three sixes. Lokesh Bam was even quicker, 52 not out from 22, and the pair took 65 off the last five overs.
Japan never started the chase. Then the rain set in and stayed, and the no-result put Nepal top of Group A on three points. Afghanistan, who beat Japan by 48 runs on Thursday and then lost to Nepal by five wickets on Friday, finish second on two. Japan go out with one point from two games.
Malaysia through without a toss
The afternoon game between Malaysia and Oman was abandoned without a toss. That suited Malaysia. Their eight-wicket win over Hong Kong on Thursday, when they chased 82 and finished on 84 for 2 in the 12th over, had left them with a net run rate of 2.950, and the point from the washout was enough to top Group B.
Hong Kong take second place on the strength of their 41-run win over Oman. Oman needed to win on Saturday and never got on the field.
The quarter-final draw
The four group qualifiers now meet the four seeded sides, who were given byes to the last eight. Monday opens with Hong Kong against Pakistan at 9am local time (5.30am IST), then India against Afghanistan at 2pm (10.30am IST). On Tuesday Nepal play Sri Lanka and Bangladesh play Malaysia. The semi-finals are on 1 October and the medal matches on 3 October.
India have sent a squad led by Shreyas Iyer, with Tilak Varma as his deputy and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi on his first senior call-up. They have not played a game yet. Afghanistan have already had two on this ground, which is two more than India.
That makes the first match a harder opener than a seeded side would like. Afghanistan’s bowlers dismissed Japan for 81 in their first game, with Arab Gul taking 4 for 8, but their own batting managed only 102 for 7 against Nepal the next day. If the weather in Aichi holds, India get a straight answer this time.