Asian Games: India through to semi-finals after washout against Afghanistan

NISSHIN: The second quarter-final of the Asian Games 2026 men's cricket competition between India and Afghanistan was washed out due to persistent rain and a wet outfield here at the Korogi Sports Park on Monday.

The abandonment of the fixture meant the Men in Blue advanced into the semi-finals due to a better seeding, determined by the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20I team rankings, in which they are at the top.

Afghanistan, on the other hand, 10th in the ICC rankings, were knocked out of the competition.

The knockout fixture was scheduled to commence at 9 AM as per Pakistan Standard Time (PST), with the toss at 8:30 AM, but the unfavourable conditions, courtesy of a consistent downpour, led to its abandonment 16 minutes before the scheduled time for the coin toss.

Upon their qualification, India will face the winners of Tuesday's quarter-final between Nepal and Sri Lanka in the second semi-final, scheduled to be played at the same venue on Thursday.

For the unversed, India were one of the four teams to enter direct qualification into the quarter-finals, alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, on the virtue of being the best-ranked sides.

Afghanistan, on the other hand, had booked their spot in the knockout stage by finishing second in Group A standings with two points in as many games.

The Atalans started their campaign with a comfortable 48-run victory over host nation Japan before suffering a stunning five-wicket defeat at the hands of Nepal, who topped the standings with three points.

Earlier today, the first quarter-final between Pakistan and Hong Kong was also abandoned without a ball bowled at the same venue, resulting in the Green Shirts advancing into the semi-finals.