Aichi-Nagoya, Sept. 28 -- India advanced to the men's cricket semifinals at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya after their quarterfinal against Afghanistan was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rain at the Karogi Athletic Park on Monday.
As per the Asian Games rules, a knockout match that is abandoned is decided by the higher-ranked team based on the ICC T20I rankings. India, the world No. 1, therefore progressed at the expense of Afghanistan, who are ranked 10th.
The same rule helped India retain the Asian Games title in Hangzhou in 2023, when the final against Afghanistan was also washed out.
Afghanistan were visibly disappointed to lose their quarterfinal without getting an opportunity to play.
"We are here for the match but ...