India face Afghanistan in the Asian Games quarter-final after two group washouts

India will begin the defence of their Asian Games cricket gold against Afghanistan in Nisshin on Monday, a rematch of the 2023 final that rain never let finish

The men's quarter-final line-up was settled on Saturday, when the last two group matches were washed out without a result. Nepal and Afghanistan went through from Group A at the expense of hosts Japan, and Malaysia and Hong Kong advanced from Group B after their meeting with Oman was abandoned without a ball bowled.

That left India, seeded straight into the knockouts without a group match, drawn against Afghanistan at Korogi Sports Park, Nisshin, on Monday. Shreyas Iyer's squad flew into Nagoya on Saturday.

Pakistan meet Hong Kong in the other tie on Monday. Sri Lanka play Nepal and Bangladesh face Malaysia on Tuesday, with both medal matches on October 3.

How the draw fell into place

Nepal had already beaten Afghanistan earlier in the group stage, the result that reordered Group A. Their last match, against Japan, was abandoned with Nepal batting, which confirmed them as group winners and sent the hosts out.

Afghanistan went through in second place. Malaysia topped Group B and Hong Kong followed them into the knockouts, with Oman eliminated by the weather rather than by a result.

Both washouts fell on the last day of the group stage, so neither Japan nor Oman had a chance to change their position.

A rematch of the final rain decided

India and Afghanistan last met at an Asian Games in the Hangzhou 2023 final, and that match was never completed. Rain stopped play with India batting and the game was called off.

With no result possible, the gold went to India as the higher-ranked side in the T20I table, under the tournament's seeding rule. Afghanistan took silver.

Ruturaj Gaikwad captained India to that title with a second-string squad. Monday is the first chance either side has had to settle the tie on the field.

Laxman back in charge

VVS Laxman is India's head coach for the tournament, the role he held in Hangzhou. Sunil Joshi, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Subhadeep Ghosh complete the coaching staff, with Maroof Fajandar as team leader.

Iyer captains the side and Tilak Varma is his deputy. This squad is considerably stronger than the one India sent to China: Jasprit Bumrah is in it, along with Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Shivam Dube and the wicketkeepers Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is in the party as well, and Yash Thakur was drafted into the Asian Games and Afghanistan T20I squads earlier this month as a replacement for Harshit Rana.

India were given a bye through the group stage as top seeds, so the Afghanistan match will be their first of the tournament.

Gambhir stays with the ODI side

India's senior head coach, Gautam Gambhir, is not in Japan. He remains with the ODI squad for the three-match home series against West Indies, which starts on Sunday.

That opener is at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, a day before the quarter-final in Nisshin.

Running the two assignments at once is why Bumrah is in Japan rather than Kerala, and why India are effectively fielding two international sides this week.

The route to October 3

The four quarter-finals are spread across Monday and Tuesday, all of them at Korogi Sports Park, and the bronze and gold medal matches follow on Saturday week.

India's women have already taken gold in Aichi-Nagoya, beating Sri Lanka in their final. A second title would give India both cricket golds at these Games.

India's defence now comes down to three matches in six days, and it starts with Afghanistan on Monday.

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