Rain played spoilsport in the final Group A fixture of the Asian Games 2026 men’s cricket event, as the contest between Japan and Nepal ended in a washout at the Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin. The hosts were eliminated as a consequence, finishing with a lone point earned from the washout, with Afghanistan and Nepal progressing to the quarterfinal stage.
Nepal’s batters made their mark in a truncated 15-over affair. Asked to bat first, they rode on half-centuries from Sundeep Jora and Lokesh Bam to post 149 in their allotted quota of overs. The start was anything but flamboyant as Kushal Bhurtel fell for a 12-ball 4, but Jora broke free with a six and a four in the fourth over and built on a positive start as he raced to 30 off 16. Aasif Sheikh brought up the 50-run partnership between the two with a six, but soon fell to Jake Kusuda-Nairn. Kushal Malla and Gulsan Jha departed for identical scores of 2, even as Jora continued to reel off boundaries at his end.
Bam wasted no time in asserting himself, opening his account with a four before striking consecutive sixes off Declan Suzuki-McComb. Jora reached his fifty and then watched as Bam dealt in sixes – two off Charlie Hara-Hinze in the penultimate over and two more off Ibrahim Takahashi in the last. Bam finished unbeaten on 52 off 22 to take Nepal to an imposing score at the 15-over mark. But another spell of rain resulted in an abrupt end to the contest.
Brief Scores: Nepal 149/4 in 15 overs (Sundeep Jora 57*, Lokesh Bam 52*; Reo Sakurano-Thomas 1-7, Declan Suzuki-McComb 1-19) vs Japan. No result due to rain.
Oman knocked out after washout against Malaysia
The second fixture of the day, a Group B clash between Malaysia and Oman, was washed out without the toss taking place. It meant that Malaysia and Hong Kong, China progressed to the quarterfinals as Oman bowed out with a solitary point against their name.
Malaysia, by virtue of topping Group B with three points, will face Bangladesh and Nepal, the Group A leaders, will face Sri Lanka in the quarterfinals on Tuesday (September 29). Afghanistan will play India in their quarterfinal encounter on Monday, in what marks a repeat of the 2023 final in Hangzhou, after Hong Kong, China face Pakistan in the first quarterfinal.