Asian Games 2026: Quarter-final line-up confirmed for men's cricket tournament
What's the story
The quarter-final match-ups for the men's 2026 Asian Games cricket tournament have been finalized. The top four seeded teams, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, have automatically qualified for the knockout stage. Nepal and Afghanistan advanced from Group A at the expense of hosts Japan. Meanwhile, Malaysia and Hong Kong progressed from Group B after Oman were eliminated. Here's more.
Weather impact
Here's how the 4 teams qualified from both groups
The last two group matches of the men's cricket event at the Asian Games 2026 were marred by rain.
The Malaysia vs Oman Group B game was called off without a toss, while the earlier Nepal-Japan match was also interrupted and never resumed.
This led to Malaysia, Hong Kong, Nepal and Afghanistan qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Upcoming matches
Sri Lanka and India await Nepal and Afghanistan respectively
The quarter-final line-up has been confirmed with Nepal and Afghanistan qualifying from Group A.
They will face Sri Lanka and defending champions India respectively.
Afghanistan will face India on September 28 at 10am IST, while Nepal vs Sri Lanka clash is on September 29 at 5:30am IST.
However, rain could play spoilsport as Accuweather predicts a high chance of rain during these matches.
Group B progress
Malaysia, Hong Kong to face Pakistan and Bangladesh respectively
Malaysia topped Group B with three points from two matches and an NRR of 2.950.
Hong Kong came second with two points from as many games, recording one win and one loss. Their NRR stood at -0.075, as per Cricinfo.
The two teams will face Pakistan and Bangladesh respectively in the quarter-finals for a place in the semi-finals on September 28 and September 29 respectively.