Bibhash Lodh, BS News Agency: Cricket is such a game that when it rains, matches get washed out. The cricket schedule is so packed that if a match is washed out due to rain, there is no time to replay it. Therefore, in the washed out match, if it is at the league level, points are shared between the two teams. And in the knockout stage, the team ahead in the ranking is declared the winner. Similarly, in the quarter-finals of men's cricket at the 2026 Aichi Nagoya Asian Games on Monday. The Pakistan-Hong Kong match could not be played due to rain. Later, not a single ball could be played in the India-Afghanistan match. There is no reserve day in the Asian Games. Games have to be completed within a specific day. So, taking advantage of higher rankings, the Pakistan and Indian men's cricket teams went to the semi-finals of the Asian Games without playing a single ball.
Due to the rain and the wet outfield, the umpires announced that the match could not take place 16 minutes before the toss of the quarterfinal match between India and Afghanistan at Nishin Stadium. Since the match was postponed, India was declared the winner due to their lead in the ICC T20 team rankings. India advanced to the semifinals on that strength.
Nepal will face Sri Lanka in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Shreyas Iyer and the winner of those two teams will play in the semifinals on Thursday. If the match is abandoned due to rain on Tuesday too, then Sri Lanka will also reach the semifinals as they are the higher ranked team. However, even if the match is played, Sri Lanka is the favorite in the match against Nepal. However, nothing is impossible on the playing field. Bangladesh will face Malaysia in the fourth quarterfinal on Tuesday. If nothing happens, Bangladesh should win the match and go to the semifinals. In that case, Pakistan and Bangladesh will face each other in the semifinals. This means that only India and Pakistan can meet in the final to win the gold.
Afghanistan is in trouble. In the final of the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, the final match between India and Afghanistan was not finished due to rain, and Ruturaj Gaekwad's Indian men's team won the gold. Now the challenge is for Shreyas Iyer and his teammates to retain that gold medal.