Captain Shreyas Iyer makes prediction about Vaibhav Suryavanshi ahead of series against West Indies

An incident that continues to be discussed occurred during the gold medal match of men's cricket at the 2026 Asian Games between India and Pakistan. Pakistani all-rounder Sam Ayub staged a controversial celebration after dismissing young Indian batsman Vaibha Suryawanshi.

Ayub imitated cradling a baby (celebration in cradle), which drew criticism from former Pakistani cricketer Kamran Akmal. Akmal voiced his opinion on this situation on the show 'Game Plan'. The program host also questioned such behavior in international cricket.

In response, Akmal stated that players should focus on their game rather than actions for social media. He emphasized that such things have been happening for a long time, and despite the team's poor results, players engage in attention-grabbing activities on social media. Akmal urged the management to consider this, noting that it concerns international cricket, and the player's age is irrelevant since he plays internationally. He added that Sam Ayub is not a child and should focus on his performance.

In this match, India defeated Pakistan by 19 runs, defending the championship title. At the beginning of the Indian innings, Vaibha Suryawanshi tried to put pressure on the Pakistani bowlers. He showed his intent by scoring two boundaries in Sad Masood's over. However, he was dismissed while attempting a reverse sweep against Sam Ayub in the third over. Vaibha scored 15 runs off 9 balls.

In the match, India batted first and scored 211/6 in 20 overs. Abhishek Sharma played aggressively, scoring 61 runs off 28 balls. Tilak Verma quietly scored 51 runs without getting out, and Shivam Dube contributed 27 runs. After Vaibha Suryawanshi's early dismissal, Sanju Samson came in at number three.

Pakistan's start while chasing was not the most successful, but Hasan Nawaz tried to change the game's momentum, showing explosive play with 96 runs off 51 balls and putting pressure on the Indian bowlers. Jasprit Bumrah and Shivam Dube performed excellently under pressure, restricting Pakistan to 192/6.

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 romance of women's cricket at the 2026 Asian Games has reached its peak as the Indian and Sri Lankan teams will meet again for the gold medal. These two teams have previously faced each other in the Asian Games final.

India won the last time. The defending champion demonstrated outstanding play in the tournament. In the quarter-finals, India achieved their goal in just 5 overs, restricting Japan to only 57 runs. In the semi-finals, the team scored an impressive 195 runs against Bangladesh, which was eliminated with 81 points. Thus, the Indian players intend to continue playing strongly against Sri Lanka, aiming to win gold.

The Indian team secured a dominant victory with a score of 114 runs, and now they are ready to face Sri Lanka in the gold medal match.

For their part, the Sri Lankan team also showed excellent play. They advanced to the final by defeating Malaysia in the quarter-finals by a margin of 86 runs and Pakistan in the semi-finals by 8 wickets. Sri Lanka's captain and star all-rounder, Chamari Atapattu, is in great form and could be the biggest threat to India. Besides Atapattu, Hasini Perera and Kavisha Dilhari played well. Sri Lanka understands that to beat India, they need to put pressure on the Indian batsmen early in the game.

The foundation of the Indian team's attack is Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, who consistently score runs. In bowling, Dipti Sharma and Shri Charani successfully use their spin bowling to dismiss batsmen. Nevertheless, slight instability in the middle order of the Indian team is a concern. Middle-order players, with the exception of captain Harmanpreet Kaur, failed to show the expected level of play, which requires improvement before the final.

Looking at head-to-head statistics, India had an advantage in T20 cricket. Out of 31 matches between the two teams, India won 25. Furthermore, this month both teams met in the Women's Asian Cup final, where the Indian team won convincingly by a margin of 72 runs.