Rain Ends Afghanistan’s Run, India Book Semi-Final Spot
India made it to the last four as the cricket regulations for the Asian Games state that the higher-ranked team gets the advantage if a knockout game is called off without a result. India, ranked higher than Afghanistan, took the semi-final place. The quarter-final didn't have a reserve day.
XtraTime Webdesk: After their quarterfinal match against Afghanistan was postponed due to persistent rain in Nisshin, Japan, the reigning champions India advanced to the semi-finals of the men's cricket competition at the 2026 Asian Games. Both teams were unable to take the field because the match could not start due to the persistent wet conditions.
India made it to the last four as the cricket regulations for the Asian Games state that the higher-ranked team gets the advantage if a knockout game is called off without a result. India, ranked higher than Afghanistan, took the semi-final place. The quarter-final didn't have a reserve day.
The result keeps India’s campaign to defend the gold medal they won at the 2023 Asian Games on track. In the final of 2023, India once again faced Afghanistan but the match was washed out due to rain and India was awarded gold medal based on ranking.
India, under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer, will now play either Nepal or Sri Lanka in the semifinals. Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, and Arshdeep Singh are among the team's seasoned international
players.