India have booked their place in the semifinals of the men’s cricket competition at the ongoing Asian Games 2026 on Monday (September 28) after their second quarterfinal match against Afghanistan in Nisshin was washed out due to rain.
The defending champion side made it to the last four as it is ranked No.1 in the ICC T20I rankings while Afghanistan is currently placed 10th.
In their semifinal match on Thursday (October 1), India will take on winners of the third quarter-final between Nepal and Sri Lanka.
If the match between Nepal and Sri Lanka gets washed out on Tuesday (September 29), then Sri Lanka, by virtue of their higher ranking, will take on India in the semi-final.
There has been consistent rain in Nagoya for the past few days and even
a curtailed match was a remote possibility on Monday. If the men’s cricket competition is entirely washed out due to rain then India might win gold because of their top ranking.
The first quarterfinal between Pakistan and Hong Kong was also washed out on Monday, allowing the Men in Green to move ahead on the basis of their higher ICC ranking.
India to face Pakistan in final if…
India will face Pakistan in the men’s cricket competition at the Asian Games 2026 on Saturday (October 4) if both teams manage to win their respective semifinal matches.
While India will face the winner of the Sri Lanka vs Nepal match in the second semifinal on October 1, the first last-four match is scheduled to be played between the winner of the Bangladesh vs Malaysia match and Pakistan on October 1.
India have faced Pakistan four times in T20Is in the last 13 months and managed to secure one-sided wins in all four of them.
Under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav, India defeated Pakistan three times in a row last year in September to win the 2025 edition of the Asia Cup. Then, on February 15, 2026, India secured a win by 61 runs over Pakistan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Group A match at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
