India vs Afghanistan Live score, Asian Games quarter-final: Rain threat looms as Shreyas Iyer's men begin title defence

India vs Afghanistan Live Score, Asian Games 2026: Follow latest updates as India begin Asian Games men's cricket campaign with a quarterfinal match in Japan

NeIndia's captain Shreyas Iyer, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma and teammates before the first T20I cricket match between India and Afghanistan, in New Delhi, Sunday (HT_PRINT)

India vs Afghanistan Live Score, Asian Games 2026: The women's team defend the gold. It's over the men's team. Shreyas Iyer's side will look to move on from the scare against Japan last week in a one-off face-off as they take on Afghanistan in the Asian Games quarterfinal. India won the gold medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Games in a rain-affected final. The Men in Blue did not participate in the only two other Asian Games editions that held men's cricket -- 2010 and 2014.

Follow all the updates here:

• 28 Sept 2026, 09:21:06 AM IST

  What is Shreyas Iyer say on the quarterfinal draw for India

  "Not just Afghanistan, no team can be taken lightly at any stage - just look at how tough Japan made it for us the other day. The pitches here cannot be set to a certain standard, so to adapt is key. It will be challenging for all the teams.

  Whenever you represent India, there are a lot of expectations, that you have to finish at the top. That is always there. That is good pressure. When there are expectations, you want to deliver. But I think we shouldn't think of the outcome too much. We have set a standard as a team, and we must try to transcend that in every match."

• 28 Sept 2026, 08:55:24 AM IST

  How Afghanistan qualified?

  The 2022 silver medallist beat Japan in Group A match, before losing to Nepal. Afghanistan eventually qualified after the match between Nepal and Japan was washed out. They made it through as the second-placed team from the group.

• 28 Sept 2026, 08:40:09 AM IST

  So what happens to India's chances if there is a wash out?

  India will progress to the semifinal by virtue of being the higher-ranked side. Earlier, Pakistan progressed to the semis based on the same scenario.

• 28 Sept 2026, 08:29:58 AM IST

  But…rain threat looms

  There is a high probability that Nisshin, the venue for the India-Afghanistan quarterfinal, face a fourth-straight wash out.

  P.S.: Pakistan's quarterfinal against Hong Kong was washed out earlier this morning.

• 28 Sept 2026, 08:24:50 AM IST

  Expecting any changes in India XI?

  There was no Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the match against Japan, which India played last week. Can we expect him today in the XI? That is potentially not going to happen. India will likely keep the batting line-up same. Although, Jasprit Bumrah will certainly return to action after being rested for the rain-curtailed Japan game.

• 28 Sept 2026, 08:10:58 AM IST

  Have you checked out the jersey yet?

• 28 Sept 2026, 08:07:29 AM IST

  How does the squad for the two sides look?

  Afghanistan Squad: Mohammad Akram, Hassan Eisakhil, Karim Janat, Faisal Shinozada, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Ishaq(w), Darwish Rasooli(c), Nangeyalia Kharoti, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Faridoon Dawoodzai, Arab Gul Momand, Ismat Alam, Farmanullah Safi, Khalid Taniwal, Imran Mir

  India Squad: Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar, Yash Thakur, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Vipraj Nigam

• 28 Sept 2026, 08:00:24 AM IST

  Hello and welcome!

  Hello and welcome to the Live coverage of men's cricket quarterfinal match between India and Afghanistan. Stay tuned for more updates!