The men's cricket bronze-medal match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at the 2026 Asian Games was overshadowed by a controversial umpiring decision on Saturday. Playing at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Sri Lanka posted 165/9 in 20 overs with Tharindu Ratnayake leading the scoring with a 65-run knock.
Bangladesh's Mahedi Hasan, Saif Hassan and Mustafizur Rahman picked up three wickets apiece but the absence of the Decision Review System (DRS) became a major talking point during the innings. With the technology unavailable at the venue, Sri Lanka batter Nuwanidu Fernando was left with no option after being given out despite replays appearing to show that he had not edged the delivery.
Nuwanidu Fernando's controversial dismissal sparks debate
The incident happened in the fourth over when Bangladesh pacer Aliss Al Islam seemed to get an edge off Fernando. Wicketkeeper Litton Das held the catch behind the stumps, which prompted the umpire to raise his finger as the Bangladesh players celebrated.
But the TV replays appeared to suggest that there was in fact a gap between Fernando's bat and the ball, with him never touching the ball. As a result, DRS was unavailable at Korogi Sports Park, so Fernando was unable to review the decision. He had to walk back to the pavilion.
The recalled dismissal proved particularly galling for the Sri Lankan batsman, who was clearly disappointed having had to leave the field after the decision had been taken.
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The DRS's lack of a presence is understandable, given Japan's burgeoning cricket credentials, but it did come under the spotlight in a men's cricket game that had an Asian Games medal at stake.
While India and Pakistan have qualified for the men's cricket final, it is set to take place at Korogi Sports Park on Saturday. India booked their place after seeing off Sri Lanka by 124 runs in the semi-final, with Shreyas Iyer and his team assured at least a silver medal.
Pakistan on the other hand, beat Bangladesh by six wickets in the other semi-final to reach the gold-medal match. Their quarter-final against Hong Kong, China, was washed out, which meant he could progress to the last four without taking the field.
India will go into the final as defending Asian Games men's cricket champions after winning the gold medal at Hangzhou 2023.
Pakistan will be looking for their first men's cricket gold medal at the Asian Games. Their women's team has already won the top prize in the competition.