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Cricket PlayersIndia-Pakistan Asian Games final? Japan's rain could set it up, but not without an awkward twist
Pakistan will face Bangladesh in the first semifinal, while India will take on Sri Lanka.
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For the sixth straight time, a men’s cricket match at the ongoing 2026 Asian Games has been affected by rain.
On Tuesday, Sri Lanka and Nepal, and then Bangladesh and Malaysia, never took the field as rain in Nisshin washed out the third and fourth quarterfinals. No ball was bowled. The toss never happened. And yet, a match result was announced. It had also happened in the previous two quarterfinals, with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh advancing to the semifinals by the same rule.
Unlike Monday’s India-Afghanistan quarterfinal, which was washed out because of a wet outfield, the matches between Sri Lanka and Nepal and Bangladesh and Malaysia never got underway because it was pelting down in Aichi-Nagoya all morning. After a brief wait, the umpires declared both matches abandoned.
Sri Lanka progressed to the semifinals by virtue of their superior T20I ranking. Nepal, despite their stellar group-stage campaign in which they stunned Afghanistan, never got the chance to test themselves in the knockout stage. Bangladesh, too, advanced without taking the field.
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Sri Lanka will now take on defending champions India in the semifinal, while Pakistan, who also progressed to the last four by the same rule after their washed-out quarterfinal against Hong Kong, China, will face Bangladesh.
India-Pakistan rain twist
The weather in Aichi-Nagoya has not looked particularly pleasant over the past week, and there is little indication of a major improvement with both the semifinals and final still to come.
There is a 60 per cent probability of rain on Thursday, when both semifinals are scheduled, and a 40 per cent chance of rain on the morning of the final on October 3.
Should the semifinals be washed out, India and Pakistan would progress to the final by virtue of their superior T20I rankings in their respective contests. That could set up a tantalising India-Pakistan final for the organisers — but if the rain continues, there may not be a match at all in Nisshin.
There is another twist. In the 2022 Asian Games, India won the gold medal after the final against Afghanistan ended without a result, with India being the higher-seeded side. The rules for the 2026 edition, however, have changed.
Should the final also be washed out, India and Pakistan would share the gold medal. And that could make for an unusual podium ceremony given the circumstances surrounding recent encounters between the two sides.
Since the Pahalgam terror attack in April last year, which further intensified geopolitical tensions between the neighbouring nations, Indian cricketers have maintained a no-handshake stance in matches against Pakistan. The Indian teams also refused to share the podium with, and accept trophies from, Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi, who also serves in Pakistan’s cabinet, during the men’s and women’s Asia Cup tournaments.
