Nagoya, Sept 30:
India will take on Sri Lanka in the men’s cricket semi-final of the 2026 Asian Games in Nisshin, Japan tomorrow, with the defending champions looking to move one step closer to retaining their title. The match is scheduled for 10 am IST at the Korogi Sports Park.
Led by Shreyas Iyer, India have brought a strong squad featuring several established T20 names, including Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh. Teenage batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is also part of the squad.
However, India enter the semi-final without having played a full match in the tournament. Their quarter-final against Afghanistan was washed out by rain, with India advancing on the basis of their higher T20I ranking. Sri Lanka followed the same route after their quarter-final against Nepal was abandoned. Sri Lanka are ranked ninth while India are No.1 in the ICC T20I rankings.
The lack of match practice could therefore be a factor for both sides, making the opening exchanges particularly important. India have greater depth in both batting and bowling, while Sri Lanka’s squad includes experienced names such as Niroshan Dickwella, Chamika Karunaratne, Nuwan Thushara and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth.
The biggest concern, however, remains the weather. Persistent rain has already washed out all four men’s quarter-finals in Nagoya. There is no reserve day for the semi-finals, and the tournament rules provide for the higher-ranked team to progress if a semi-final is abandoned without a result.
For India, the target is straightforward: get on the field, find their rhythm quickly and keep their gold-medal defence on track.
A win would send Iyer’s men into Saturday’s final, where they would meet the winners of the Pakistan-Bangladesh semi-final.