Kathmandu, September 29-The men’s cricket quarterfinal between Nepal and Sri Lanka at the 20th Asian Games was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to persistent rain.
The match was scheduled to take place at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan. However, continuous rainfall from the morning left the ground unfit for play, and even the toss could not take place.
As Sri Lanka is ranked higher than Nepal in the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings, it advanced directly to the semifinal following the cancellation of the match.
Sri Lanka will now face India in the semifinal.
Nepal had reached the quarterfinal after topping Group A. The Nepali team defeated Afghanistan by five wickets in the group stage to secure its place in the knockout round.
The quarterfinal had been seen as an important opportunity for Nepal to compete against Sri Lanka’s senior or second-string side for the first time. However, the rain prevented Nepal from taking the field, bringing its Asian Games campaign to an end.
Other quarterfinal matches scheduled for Monday were also affected by rain. India and Pakistan advanced to the semifinals based on their higher rankings after their respective matches were called off.
In another quarterfinal scheduled for Tuesday, Bangladesh and Malaysia are set to meet.
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