Rain, Again: India Advance Past Afghanistan Without Bowling a Ball

India's men's cricket quarter-final against Afghanistan at the Asian Games was called off on Monday without a toss, let alone a ball bowled — persistent rain at Korogi Sports Park left the outfield unplayable. India go through anyway, awarded the win because they hold the higher ICC T20I ranking, the rule used whenever a knockout match at these Games can't produce a result.

It's a near-exact repeat of the last time these two teams met in this competition. At the 2022 Asian Games final in Hangzhou (played in October 2023), Afghanistan were 112 for 5 in 18.2 overs, having batted first, when rain ended the match for good. India, unbeaten and top-ranked, were declared gold medallists without facing a delivery. This time the stakes were lower — a semi-final spot, not the title — but the outcome was identical.

Pakistan had the same afternoon. Their quarter-final against Hong Kong, also at Korogi Sports Park, was washed out before a toss, and Pakistan advanced the same way, on ranking.

India go into the semi-final, on 1 October at the same venue, against the winner of Nepal v Sri Lanka. Shreyas Iyer's side arrive on the back of a 3-0 T20I series win over Afghanistan just weeks ago, which is part of why the ranking gap between the two teams is as wide as it is.

Before the rain set in, Iyer had already flagged the conditions as something the team couldn't control. "We cannot give a reason for that," he said of the weather disrupting practice. "We are a bunch of professionals... such hurdles will keep coming." India will hope the next one comes with better weather attached.