Indian team arrives in Nagoya by high-speed train to participate in Asian Games

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).

The 2026 Asian Games are approaching, where Indian athletes will compete for medals in several disciplines, including cricket, hockey, badminton, shooting, athletics, kabaddi, boxing, archery, and wrestling.

The Indian delegation will begin its participation in the 2026 Asian Games in the city of Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The start will be on September 17th with the tekkvball discipline. On September 18th, matches for the women's cricket team against Japan are scheduled, as well as table tennis competitions.

After this, attention will be focused on sports such as badminton, hockey, kabaddi, and table tennis. From September 24th to 29th, athletics will be one of the main venues for India to win medals. Furthermore, numerous opportunities for awards open up in shooting, boxing, swimming, rowing, and wrestling.

In the last week of the Asian Games, important matches are expected in archery, golf, tennis, hockey, volleyball, wrestling, and cricket. In individual competitions, India places hopes on weightlifting, where besides Mirabai Chanu, contenders for medals include Dhyanashri Yadav, Saram Nirupama Devi, and Harjinder Kaur.

In badminton, the men's team will play in the round of 16. The women's hockey team will face Indonesia. In kabaddi, the men's team will compete against Japan, and the women's team against Bangladesh.

A round of 32 finalists is planned in the 70 kg weight category for men in boxing. In MMA, the men's traditional category will be -77kg, and the women's -60kg. Rowing competitions will feature quadruple sculls for men (heats) and double sculls for light men (heats).

Shooting includes competitions in 10m air rifle for men (individual and team events, qualification, final), as well as skeet for men and women (qualification). In table tennis, matches in mixed doubles will take place in the quarterfinals and final.

Swimming schedules distances for men: 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, and the 4x200m freestyle relay. In table tennis, group and playoff rounds will take place for men's and women's teams, as well as initial rounds for women's doubles.

In Wushu, finals for the women's changquan, as well as elimination rounds for men and women in sanda, are planned.

Athletics events will also feature artistic gymnastics (women's all-around final), badminton (semi-finals for men's and women's teams), boxing (initial rounds in the 60kg and 80kg weight classes), canoe/kayak (various distances and types for men and women), cricket (women's semi-final, depending on qualification), equestrian sports (individual and team events, jumps and medals), esports (e-football), and fencing (individual event in foil for women and sabre for men).

In hockey, there will be a match between Thailand and India in women's Group B. In kabaddi, matches are scheduled between Bangladesh and India (men's Group A) and Iran and India (women's Group A). Rowing will feature finals in single, double, pair, and quadruple sculls for men, as well as finals for the women's quad (depending on qualification).

Shooting also includes competitions in 10m air pistol for women (individual and team events, qualification, final), as well as skeet for men and women (qualification and final). In table tennis, semi-finals for men's and women's teams, as well as initial rounds for singles and doubles, will take place.

Weightlifting has competitions scheduled for men in the 60 kg weight class (Rishikant Singh) and for women in the 49 kg (Mirabai Chanu), 53 kg (Dhyanashri Yadav), 61 kg (Saram Nirupama Devi), and 69 kg (Harjinder Kaur) weight classes.

In Wushu, semi-finals for men and women in sanda in the 56 kg, 75 kg, 52 kg, and 60 kg weight classes are planned (depending on qualification).

Competitions in aquatics and water sports are also scheduled, where the Indian team is ready for the main stage in Aichi-Nagoya 2026.

A three-match T20 series between India and Afghanistan is scheduled to begin on September 13, 2026. An analysis of previous encounters shows a significant advantage for the Indian team.

In total, nine international T20 matches have been played between India and Afghanistan. In these games, the Indian team has won eight times, and one match ended in a tie. Thus, Afghanistan has not managed to secure a single victory against India in T20 format yet.

The first T20 match between these two teams took place on May 1, 2010, on St. Lucia Island in the West Indies, which India won by seven wickets. The last meeting occurred on June 20, 2024, during the T20 World Cup in Bridgetown, Barbados, where India also won by 47 runs.

The Indian men's cricket team has played five T20 matches at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi (formerly Feroz Shah Kotla). In these five matches, India secured four victories and suffered one defeat. It should be noted that Afghanistan played one international T20 match against the UAE this year at Arun Jaitley Stadium as part of the T20 World Cup, which they won by five wickets.

The T20 series between India and Afghanistan starts on September 13, 2026. All three matches are scheduled to be held in New Delhi. Fans' attention will be focused on whether Afghanistan can achieve its first victory against India in T20, or if India will maintain its dominance.

The Indian squad for this series includes Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan, Tilak Verma (vice-captain), Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akshar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Yashas Thakur.

Afghanistan's squad for the confrontation with India consists of Ibrahim Jadaran (captain), Rahmanullah Gurgaz (wicketkeeper), Noor Rahman (wicketkeeper), Sedikullah Atla, Darwish Rasuli, Ajmatullah Umarji, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Haroti, Noor Ahmed, Mujib Ur Rahman, Fazlhaq Faruqi, Abdullah Ahmedzai, and Naveen Ul Haq.

The full match schedule is as follows: the first T20 will take place on September 13, 2026, at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi; the second T20 on September 15, 2026, also in New Delhi; the third T20 is set for September 17, 2026, in New Delhi.