Sri Lanka secured a place in the Asian Games men’s cricket semi-finals on September 29 after heavy rain forced the abandonment of their quarter-final match against Nepal in Aichi Nagoya, Japan, without a ball being bowled yesterday.
The match was called off at 8.20 am local time after persistent rainfall inundated Kurogi Sports Park in Nisshin. Under tournament regulations, Sri Lanka advanced due to their higher seeding, as they hold the ninth spot in the ICC T20I rankings compared to Nepal’s 14th position.
The elimination ended a promising run for Nepal, who reached the final eight after winning Group A with a five-wicket victory over Afghanistan and a rain-shortened point share against Japan. Sri Lanka, alongside India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, had received direct entry into the quarter-final round based on their international standings.
The washout follows similar cancellations on Monday, when scheduled quarter-final fixtures between India and Afghanistan, as well as Pakistan and Hong Kong, were abandoned, allowing India and Pakistan to progress on superior rankings.
Sri Lanka now moves on to the semi-final round scheduled for Thursday, 1 October where they will face India. In the other semi-final Pakistan will take on Bangladesh on the same day. The men’s cricket tournament will conclude with the gold and bronze medal matches on Saturday, 3 October.