Nagoya, Sept 28: India’s men’s cricket team advanced to the semi-finals of the Asian Games after rain forced the cancellation of their quarter-final match against Afghanistan without a single ball being bowled.
The Indian team, led by Shreyas Iyer, had been scheduled to take on Afghanistan, captained by Darwish Rasooli, at the Kariya Sports Park Stadium in Nisshin city. However, persistent rain made it impossible to conduct the match.
With the conditions not improving, the umpires called off the match without play, leaving the spectators who had turned up at the stadium disappointed.
Despite the washout, India secured a place in the semi-finals based on the teams’ international T20 rankings. India are ranked No. 1 while Afghanistan are placed 10th. Under the tournament rules, the higher-ranked Indian side progressed to the last four.
India will play their semi-final on October 1.
The Indian squad features several leading players, including captain Shreyas Iyer, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel.
With the experienced and established players available for the knock-out stage, India will enter the semi-final with a strong squad.