India Men won the gold medal at the 2023 Asian Games despite rain forcing an abandonment halfway through their final against Afghanistan at Hangzhou.
Cricket was introduced to Asiad at the 2010 Guangzhou Games. A cricket event was held in Incheon in 2014, but no cricket event was held in Jakarta-Palembang in 2018. When the cricket event was revived in Hangzhou in 2022 (it was eventually held in 2023), India sent a team to both the men’s and women’s events for the first time.
Rain was the spoils of both events, including the knockout. Had it rained in the group stage, we would have simply shared the points, but the league game went smoothly.
In women’s cricket, India posted a score of 173-2 in 15 overs in the first quarter-final match, but could not play as Malaysia lost two balls. The other two quarterfinals, Pakistan vs. Indonesia and Bangladesh vs. Hong Kong, were completely defeated.
As per the rules, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh all qualified for the semi-finals without playing a full match as they were all seeded higher than their respective opponents. They joined Sri Lanka in their only complete quarter-final win against Thailand.
Malaysia probably had the worst performance as they did not lose in the entire tournament but were eliminated. India finally won the gold medal, their first medal in Asian Games cricket.
It didn’t rain until the boys’ semi-finals. In the bronze medal match, they defeated Pakistan 48-1 in 5 overs. In cricket, he is capable of five more overs (the minimum requirement for a complete game) and Bangladesh chased down his adjusted target of 65 overs from the last ball to secure his third place.
The final at the same venue started well, but rain set in and Afghanistan won 112-5 after 18.2 overs. The match could not continue and higher seeded India won her second gold medal in cricket.
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