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Cricket at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, is easy to miss if you’re only watching one half of it. It is actually two separate T20 tournaments, run back to back at the same venue — a women’s competition that finished on September 22, and a men’s competition that finished on October 3. India’s women wrapped up their half with one of the most one-sided gold-medal matches the event has produced. India’s men then completed the double, beating Pakistan by 19 runs in the final.
This guide covers both: the completed women’s result in full, and the men’s format, groups, quarter-final draw and final.
The Basics: One Venue, Two Tournaments, 17 September – 3 October
Both the men’s and women’s T20 tournaments are being played at Kōrogi Sports Park in Nisshin, inside the wider Aichi-Nagoya host region, across the full 17 September – 3 October window of the Games. The women’s event ran and finished first; the men’s event followed, ending with the final on October 3.
India’s Women Defend Their Gold — the Result in Full
India beat Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final on September 22, 2026, becoming the first team to successfully defend the Asian Games cricket gold medal — a title India’s women first won at the 2023 Hangzhou Games (delayed from 2022 and eventually played in 2023). Sri Lanka settled for silver for the second consecutive edition, and Pakistan took bronze.
| Medal | Team |
|---|---|
| 🥇 Gold | India (defending champions) |
| 🥈 Silver | Sri Lanka |
| 🥉 Bronze | Pakistan |
The final itself was a mismatch from the first hour. India posted 216 for 3 — an Asian Games women’s cricket record score — powered by Smriti Mandhana’s 79 off 45 balls. Sri Lanka never recovered from the target: India’s bowlers took them apart for just 69 all out, with Deepti Sharma the standout at 3 for 6. A 147-run margin of victory is about as complete a gold-medal performance as a knockout final produces.
For the fuller picture of India’s continental dominance in women’s T20 cricket this year, see our guide to the Women’s Asia Cup 2026, which India also won a week earlier.
The Men’s Tournament: 10 Teams, a Seeded Knockout, and Two Preliminary Groups
The men’s event uses a structure most bilateral or franchise fans won’t have seen before: it seeds four teams straight into the knockout stage and makes the other six fight through a short round-robin just to reach it.
Four seeded teams go straight to the quarter-finals: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka — the four highest-ranked Full Members in the field, given a bye past the preliminary stage entirely.
Six teams play a preliminary round-robin in two groups of three, from 24–26 September, with only the top two from each group advancing:
| Group A | Group B |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Hong Kong China |
| Japan (hosts) | Malaysia |
| Nepal | Oman |
Nepal won Group A outright, with Afghanistan finishing as runners-up. Group B produced the tournament’s one real upset story: Oman were eliminated after a washed-out match cost them their path forward, and Malaysia went through instead alongside Hong Kong China.
The Quarter-Final Draw
The four seeded teams and the four preliminary-stage survivors were drawn into the following quarter-finals, played on 28–29 September:
| Quarter-Final | Date |
|---|---|
| India vs. Afghanistan | September 28 |
| Pakistan vs. Hong Kong China | September 28 |
| Sri Lanka vs. Nepal | September 29 |
| Bangladesh vs. Malaysia | 28–29 September |
India’s toughest early test is exactly the one they’ve drawn: Afghanistan arrive as Group A runners-up, not the weaker seed some brackets hand a Full Member in round one. Semi-finals follow on October 1, with the bronze-medal match and the final both on October 3.
How the Men’s Knockouts Finished
The weather decided more than the cricket in the quarter-finals. India v Afghanistan and Sri Lanka v Nepal were abandoned without a ball bowled, as was Bangladesh v Malaysia, and the seeded side advanced each time; Pakistan also went through without a ball bowled. That is a useful reminder of how a no-result is settled in a knockout: by a pre-announced rule (here, seeding), not by the match. If you want the league-table version of the same idea, see our guide to tie vs draw vs no result.
The semi-finals on October 1 were India v Sri Lanka and Pakistan v Bangladesh, which produced the India–Pakistan final many had predicted. On October 3 in Nagoya, India made 211 for 6 — Abhishek Sharma 61 and Tilak Varma 51 not out, with Shivam Dube adding 27 — and Pakistan fell 19 runs short on 192 for 6. Hasan Nawaz made 96 and was out off the last ball of the innings attempting one more big shot. Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube took two wickets each. It was India’s second men’s title in a row. Result details are from published match reports (Cricinfo, Olympics.com); bronze-medal details are not covered here. To read a scorecard like this one, use how to read a cricket scorecard.
Why an Asian Games Medal Means More Than a Bilateral Series
Cricket is not a permanent fixture at the Asian Games — it has appeared at some editions and not others — so a gold medal here doesn’t slot into the ICC’s regular rankings or points system the way a bilateral series or an Asia Cup does. What it does carry is genuine national-team prestige and Olympic-movement visibility: India’s women’s team retaining a continental multi-sport title, and a ten-nation men’s field that gives Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman and host nation Japan a rare shot at beating a Full Member on a global stage, are both stories that matter well beyond a single scoreline. For the men’s associate nations especially, reaching the quarter-finals at all is a result worth remembering.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won cricket gold at the Asian Games 2026?
India won both events. The women beat Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final on September 22, 2026, defending the gold they first won at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games (Sri Lanka took silver for the second edition running, Pakistan bronze). The men beat Pakistan by 19 runs in the October 3 final.
Who won the Asian Games 2026 men’s cricket final?
India, who beat Pakistan by 19 runs in the gold-medal match on October 3, 2026, to defend the title. India made 211 for 6 (Abhishek Sharma 61, Tilak Varma 51 not out) and Pakistan finished on 192 for 6, with Hasan Nawaz out for 96 off the last ball.
How many teams are in the Asian Games 2026 men’s cricket tournament, and how is it structured?
Ten teams. Four of the higher-ranked Full Members — India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka — went straight into the quarter-finals as seeded teams. The other six (Afghanistan, Japan, Nepal, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Oman) played a preliminary round-robin stage in two groups of three, with the top two from each group joining the four seeds in the quarter-finals.
What happened to the men’s quarter-finals?
The India v Afghanistan and Sri Lanka v Nepal quarter-finals were abandoned to rain without a ball bowled, and so was Bangladesh v Malaysia. In each case the seeded side went through. The semi-finals were India v Sri Lanka and Pakistan v Bangladesh.
Did this India women’s squad set any records at the Asian Games 2026?
Yes. India’s 216 for 3 in the final is an Asian Games women’s cricket record score, built around Smriti Mandhana’s 79 off 45 balls. Sri Lanka were then bowled out for 69, with Deepti Sharma taking 3 for 6.
Where is cricket being played at the Asian Games 2026?
At Kōrogi Sports Park in Nisshin, part of the Aichi-Nagoya region hosting the 2026 Asian Games, running from 17 September to 3 October 2026 for both the men’s and women’s T20 tournaments.
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