India's men's team advanced to the semi-finals of the 2026 Asian Games without completing their quarter-final against Afghanistan after heavy rain forced the match to be abandoned in Nisshin, Japan, on September 28, 2026.
The washout was particularly significant because this was a knockout match. India got through under the rules of the competition as it was the higher-ranked team going into the quarter-final. Afghanistan, despite hitting the last eight after a strong group stage campaign, was eliminated without getting to challenge India in practice.
Rain Ruins India vs Afghanistan Quarter-final
The match was to be played at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, where rain had already disrupted several games in the men's cricket competition.
The weather remained a big problem all day in the field and the venue became wet with persistent rain and a wet outfield. The conditions finally prevented the India-Afghanistan quarter-final from even reaching a result.
The Asian Games cricket tournament also had other games affected by rain. Nepal’s game against Japan and Malaysia’s match against Oman were also abandoned during the competition.
How did India qualify in such a high regard?
The important point was the higher ranking rule for knockout matches.
India entered the tournament as the defending Asian Games champions and were ranked higher than Afghanistan in the ICC Men's T20I rankings. India was ranked No. 1 before the match and Afghanistan was ranked No. 10.
Since the quarter-final could not produce a result, the higher ranked team— India— was given progression to the semi-finals. The Indian Express had explained this situation before the match and post-match reports confirmed that India advanced after the washout.
What happens to Afghanistan now?
For Afghanistan, the abandoned quarter-final means that they have finished off the men's cricket campaign at the 2026 Asian Games.
Afghanistan had qualified for the knockout stage from Group A with Nepal. They had beaten Japan in the group stage but suffered a defeat against Nepal. Nepal eventually won the group after their match against Japan was also postponed because of rain.
Afghanistan will therefore leave the competition without playing their scheduled quarter-final date with India.
India move to the semi-finals.
India now moves to the semi-final stage and is still in the race for men’s cricket gold medal.
A team, captained by Shreyas Iyer, entered the Asian Games as defending champions after winning gold at Hangzhou. The Indian squad consists of players like Jasprit Bumrah, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
India's next challenge will be the semi-final, and the opponent and match details will be determined by the last quarter-final results.
