ACC announces schedule for Asian Games cricket competitions

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on Monday confirmed the schedule for the men’s and women’s cricket competitions at the upcoming Asian Games, which will take place from Sept. 17 to Oct. 3.

All cricket matches will be played in the T20 format at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya.

Pakistan’s women’s team will start its campaign on Sept. 17 against Thailand. The women’s semifinals will be held on Sept. 20, while the bronze-medal match and final are scheduled for Sept. 22.

The men’s group-stage matches will take place from Sept. 24 to 26. Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are among the seeded teams and will enter the competition at the quarterfinal stage.

Pakistan will play its quarterfinal on Sept. 28 against the team that finishes second in Group B. India will face the Group A runner-up on the same day.

According to the draw, Pakistan and India can meet only in the gold-medal match or the bronze-medal playoff, both scheduled for Oct. 3. The men’s semifinals will be played on Oct. 1.

In the previous men’s cricket competition at the Asian Games in China in 2023, India won the gold medal after the final against Afghanistan ended without a result.

Pakistan lost the bronze-medal match to Bangladesh by six wickets, allowing the Tigers to claim third place.

A similar result was seen in the women’s competition, with India winning the gold medal, Sri Lanka taking silver and Bangladesh securing bronze after defeating Pakistan, which had previously won two gold medals.