Shreyas Iyer and Abhishek Sharma Thank Fans in Japanese Style After Asian Games Match

The quarterfinals of the men's cricket tournament at the Asian Games 2026 in Nagoya have been fully determined. After the match in Group A was cancelled due to rain on September 26 (Saturday), Nepal and Afghanistan advanced to the next round, while the host country Japan was eliminated from the tournament.

Malaysia and Hong Kong advanced to the next stage from Group B. In the last match of Group A, Nepal and Japan faced each other. This match took place at Korogi Sports Park in Nishin city. Nepal, having lost the toss, started with bat, scoring a strong total of 149/4 in 15 overs. Sandeep Jora and Lokesh Bam helped the team reach a good position, but then it started raining. Due to the continuous rain, Japan's innings did not begin, and the match ended without a winner.

This result brought direct benefits to Nepal and Afghanistan. Earlier, Nepal achieved a major surprise in Group A by defeating Afghanistan. For Japan, this match was the last chance to remain in the tournament, but the rain dashed its hopes.

In Group B, the match between Malaysia and Oman was also cancelled due to rain, and no balls were bowled. As a result of this match, Malaysia and Hong Kong qualified for the quarterfinals, and Oman's campaign ended.

Following the completion of the preliminary round matches, the full quarterfinal schedule was announced. India will face Afghanistan on September 28 (Monday) at 10:00 AM. On the same day, at 5:30 AM Indian time, Pakistan and Hong Kong will meet. The third quarterfinal match will feature Sri Lanka against Nepal, and in the fourth quarterfinal, Malaysia will play against Bangladesh. Both of these matches will take place on September 29 (Tuesday).

In the gold medal match of the 2026 Asian Games, scheduled for September 22nd, the women's teams of India and Sri Lanka will meet. This confrontation will take place at the Korogi Sports Park stadium in Aichi-Nagoya. During the draw, the Indian team won and decided to start the game by batting.

The Indian women's team previously won the gold medal at the 2022 Asian Games, defeating Sri Lanka in the final with a score of 19 runs. Now, the Indian team aims to win gold for the second consecutive time. At the 2026 Asian Games, Pakistan won the bronze medal in women's cricket, defeating Bangladesh in the bronze medal match with a score of 31 runs.

Earlier in the 2026 Asian Games, the Indian women's team defeated Japan by 8 wickets in the quarterfinals. Then, in the semi-finals, they beat Bangladesh by 114 runs. As for Sri Lanka, they defeated Malaysia by 86 runs in the quarterfinals and beat Pakistan by 8 wickets in the semi-finals.

An analysis of previous matches between India and Sri Lanka in the women's T20 International format shows that out of 32 played matches, the Indian team won 26 times, while Sri Lanka won only 5 matches, and one match ended in a draw. Thus, statistically, the advantage has always been on the side of India.

In the final, India started with the following lineup: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Gunalan Kamalini, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Richa Ghosh (keeper), Barhati Fulmali, Dipti Sharma, Shreynka Patil, Shri Charni, Nandni Sharma, and Kranti Gaur.

Sri Lanka's squad for the final included: Imesha Dulaney, Chamari Atapattu (captain), Hasini Perera, Harshita Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Hansima Karunaratne, Kaushani Nutyangna (keeper), Mitali Ayodhya, Kavya Kawindi, Chamudi Praboda, and Sugandhika Kumari.

India's overall squad includes: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Gunalan Kamalini, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Richa Ghosh (keeper), Barhati Fulmali, Dipti Sharma, Shreynka Patil, Shri Charni, Nandni Sharma, Kranti Gaur, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, and Radha Yadav.

Sri Lanka's squad includes: Imesha Dulaney, Chamari Atapattu (captain), Hasini Perera, Harshita Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Hansima Karunaratne, Kaushani Nutyangna (keeper), Mitali Ayodhya, Kavya Kawindi, Chamudi Praboda, Sugandhika Kumari, Rashmika Sevavandi, Nimasha Mipedj, Sanjana Kawindi, and Anushka Sanjivni.

During the current T20 series against Afghanistan, Indian batsman Abhishek Sharma demonstrated outstanding performance, allowing him to significantly improve his position in the ICC world rankings. Thanks to his strong batting, he surpassed Pakistani player Sahibzada Farhan and secured second place in the ICC T20 batsmen rankings.

Thus, both top spots in the T20 rankings are held by players from India, as vice-captain Ishan Kishan continues to hold the number one spot. This means that the two best T20 batsmen in the world are now associated with India.

In the first two matches against Afghanistan, Abhishek Sharma impressed his opponents with powerful innings. In the first match, he scored an impressive 82 runs off just 32 balls, leading India to an easy victory. Following this, in the second match, he played a rapid innings of 39 runs off only 19 balls. It was this excellent form that helped him climb the rankings, pushing Sahibzada Farhan to second place.

Not only batsmen but also Indian bowlers have gained recognition in the new ICC rankings. Varun Chakravarthy moved up two places to take fifth position. Star bowler Jasprit Bumrah made a significant leap into the top 10, securing tenth place. Additionally, Arshdeep Singh (14th place) and Axar Patel (27th place) also achieved good progress in the rankings.

India has already taken the lead over Afghanistan with a score of 2-0 in the first two matches of the series. The third and final match of the series will take place tomorrow, September 17, in Delhi, where the Indian team aims for a complete rout of their opponent.