Published on: Sep 29, 2026 5:03 pm IST|Updated on: Sep 29, 2026 5:34 pm IST
The men’s cricket competition at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, reached its knockout climax dramatically as all four top-seeded heavyweights—India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh—secured their places in the semifinals. Remarkably, all four Asian powerhouses have advanced to the final four without bowling or facing a single delivery in the tournament so far.
As the top four ranked teams in the tournament, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh earned direct entries into the quarter-final round. However, unrelenting weather conditions at the Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin resulted in a complete washout of the entire quarter-final schedule.
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Heavy downpours in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, throughout the week forced the match officials to abandon all four quarterfinals without even the toss being conducted.
Under the official tournament guidelines established by the Olympic Council of Asia and the International Cricket Council (ICC), when a knockout fixture is abandoned due to adverse weather conditions, the team with a higher tournament and ICC ranking automatically progresses to the next stage of the competition. Consequently, all four higher-seeded teams punched their tickets to the semifinals.
With the quarter-final already washed out, the stage is now set for a thrilling semifinal on Thursday, October 1, at the Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin. The first semifinal will see Pakistan take on Bangladesh, followed by defending gold medalists Team India clashing with Sri Lanka. Here is the official semifinal schedule in Indian Standard Time (IST):
However, Pakistan’s challenge against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka’s challenge against India won’t be easy, as both Sri Lanka and Pakistan have named a second-fiddle squad for the tournament, whereas Bangladesh and India will be competing with their first-choice team.
Should both India and Pakistan prevail in their respective semifinal fixtures, fans across the globe will witness an epic, high-stakes gold medal clash between the two rivals on Saturday, October 3. However, given the squads the four teams have for the tournament, India and Bangladesh are primed to play in the final.