The much-anticipated India-Pakistan clash will not be seen in the early stages of the Nagoya Asian Games, with the two arch-rivals placed in separate quarterfinals. While matches between India and Pakistan have become a regular feature of the group stage at multi-nation events, fans will have to wait until the knockout stages for a potential meeting this time.
India’s men’s team has been directly seeded into the quarterfinals along with other Asian giants Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The remaining six teams will have to battle through the group stage to secure their places in the last eight.
India have been placed in Quarterfinal 2, while Pakistan will feature in Quarterfinal 1, with both matches scheduled for September 28, according to a report on Cricbuzz. Their opponents will be determined by the results of the group stage, with six other teams fighting for the remaining quarterfinal spots.
The semifinal draw has also ensured that the two arch-rivals cannot meet in the last four. The winner of Quarterfinal 2 will face the winner of Quarterfinal 3 in the first semifinal, while the winner of Quarterfinal 1 will take on the winner of Quarterfinal 4 in the other semifinal. This means India and Pakistan will be kept apart until the final stages of the competition.
With the two sides occupying the top two seeded positions, they cannot face each other in either the quarterfinals or semifinals. If both teams win their respective knockout matches, their only possible meeting will come in the gold-medal match. However, if both lose their semifinals, they could meet in the bronze-medal play-off.
Similar format for women's event
The same format has been followed for the women’s competition, although the event features eight teams compared to 10 in the men’s tournament. The Asian Games will be held from September 19 to October 4, while the cricket competition will begin earlier, on September 17. The women’s matches will be played first, with the final scheduled for September 22, before the men’s competition takes centre stage. The men’s final will be played on October 3.
The women’s event will follow a similar format, with India entering as the top-seeded side and Pakistan placed fourth. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh occupy the second and third seeds respectively. India will face Japan in the quarterfinals and, if they progress as expected, will meet the winner of Bangladesh and Hong Kong, China in the semifinals. Pakistan, meanwhile, are set to take on Thailand in their quarterfinal, with a potential semifinal against either Sri Lanka or Malaysia. This draw also keeps open the possibility of another India-Pakistan clash in the knockout stages, with the arch-rivals able to meet only in the gold-medal match or the bronze-medal play-off.