Rain Washes Out Pakistan and India Quarter-Finals at Asian Games

Sports Correspondent: Imran Sohail

NISSIN, JAPAN: Pakistan and India have secured places in the semi-finals of the Asian Games men’s cricket tournament after rain washed out both of their quarter-final matches on Monday without a ball being bowled.

Pakistan were scheduled to face Hong Kong, but persistent rain left the Nisshin Cricket Stadium unplayable. The match was abandoned around the scheduled toss, with no play possible.

As one of the seeded teams in the tournament, Pakistan advanced to the last four based on their higher ICC ranking.

Pakistan will now face the winner of Tuesday’s quarter-final between Bangladesh and Malaysia in the first semi-final on Thursday.

Hong Kong had reached the quarter-finals after finishing second in Group B. They defeated Malaysia by eight wickets before suffering a 41-run loss to Oman.

Pakistan and Hong Kong were also set to meet for the third time in T20 cricket. Pakistan had won their previous two encounters, including matches at the 2022 Asia Cup and the 2023 Asian Games.

India also progressed to the semi-finals after their quarter-final against Afghanistan was abandoned because of rain before the toss.

India’s higher seeding allowed them to move into the last four, while Afghanistan’s campaign came to an end without any play in the knockout match.

India will meet the winner of Tuesday’s quarter-final between Nepal and Sri Lanka in the second semi-final on Thursday.

Sri Lanka, who were also among the seeded teams, will qualify for the semi-finals if their match against Nepal is abandoned.

The four seeded teams — India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh — had advanced directly to the quarter-final stage.

Afghanistan had won the silver medal at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games after their final against India was also affected by rain. That match was abandoned after 18.2 overs of Afghanistan’s innings, with India progressing as the higher-seeded side.