Nagoya, Sept. 27: The Nepal men’s cricket team has advanced to the quarter-finals of the 20th Asian Games as Group A winners, booking a knockout fixture against Sri Lanka on 29 September.
The Rhinos topped the group with three points after their second match against hosts Japan at the Korogi Athletic Park was abandoned midway due to persistent rain.
Nepal opened their campaign with a five-wicket victory over Afghanistan. Heading into their second fixture against Japan at a makeshift venue in Nisshin, Nepal were put in to bat first and posted 149-4 in a rain-truncated 15-over contest.
Following a delayed start that reduced the match by five overs per innings, Nepal suffered an early setback when Kushal Bhurtel was dismissed for four in the third over.
However, opener Aasif Sheikh (21 off 15 balls) and Sundeep Jora steadied the innings with a 55-run partnership.
Japan bowler Jake Kusuda-Nairn made the breakthrough by removing Sheikh, and Nepal quickly lost two more wickets as Kushal Malla (2) and Gulshan Jha (2) fell cheaply, leaving the side stuttering at 84-4 in the 10th over.
Jora then found a reliable partner in Lokesh Bam. The pair launched an unbroken 65-run stand for the fifth wicket, propelling Nepal to a competitive total.
Jora struck five boundaries and three sixes to finish unbeaten on 57 off 32 balls, his fifth Twenty20 International (T20I) half-century.
Bam contributed an explosive 52 not-out from 22 deliveries, featuring six sixes and one boundary, marking his maiden T20I half-century.
For Japan, Reo Sakurano-Thomas, Ibrahim Takahashi, Jake Kusuda-Nairn, and Declan Suzuki claimed a wicket each.
Persistent rain prevented Japan from starting their run chase, forcing both teams to share a point.
The washout eliminated Japan, who finished third in the group with one point. Afghanistan secured second place with two points and will face India in the quarter-finals.
The qualification to the quarterfinals has raised the hopes of Nepal winning a medal in the Asian Games Cricket.
It is the fourth time cricket has been included in the continental multi-sports event. The discipline was introduced in 2010 at the Asiad Guangzhou and made its second appearance in 2014, and its third in the 2023 edition.
Nepali cricket team has been crashing out from the quarter-finals at the Asian Games cricket. In 2020, Nepal nearly pulled off a shock win against Sri Lanka in the quarterfinal Unfortunately, they lost it by two wickets.
Nepal also lost their quarterfinal match in 2014 against Afghanistan by eight runs. India ousted Nepal from the quarterfinals with a 23-run win in the 2023 Asiad.
Can Nepal stop their quarterfinal jinx at the Asiad is the question that still hangs when they will be taking on Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka have not sent a full-strength Test squad to this Asiad, and the Nepali camp are confident about facing the second‑string Sri Lankan side in the quarter-finals.
Nepal now stand just one win away from securing another historic medal at the Games, provided they overcome the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team.
The strong presence of Nepali supporters in the stands has also been an advantage.
Fans travelling from Tokyo, Osaka and even further afield have gathered in Nagoya to watch Nepal play, filling the temporary parapet seating and braving the rain to cheer the team on.
"The presence of fans wherever we go to play have boosted our confidence and has been energizing us," Opener Bhurtel said.
Early exits
It was a challenging day for Nepali athletes across other events in Aichi-Nagoya, crashing out from their respective events.
Archer Tilak Pun Magar finished 40th overall in the recurve men's individual event after accumulating 651 points. In Recurve Women’s Individual qualification round Gyanu Awale collected 581 points to finish at 48th place in the qualification round.
Magar and Awale who teamed up to compete in the Recurve Mixed team event stood at the 18th place with 1232 score.
In the men's marathon, Khadak Bahadur Khadka finished at the back of the 19-runner field with a time of 2 hours, 23 minutes, and 42 seconds. His effort to eclipse Baikuntha Manandhar’s long-standing national record of 2:15.03 remained unfulfilled.
Japan’s Yamashita won gold in 2:10.49, India's Sawan Barwal took silver (2:11.37), and China's Peiyou Feng secured bronze (2:12.45).
Nepal's challenge in the badminton event came to end with the second-round loss in singles event. Kshitiz Khanal lost to Iran’s Nima Rostampourlagaldani (21-14, 21-9) in men’s singles. In women’s singles, Rashila Maharjan was defeated by China's Zhi Yi Wang (21-4, 21-2), and Rihanna Sherchan fell to Sri Lanka's Ranithma Thinudi Weihena Liyanage (21-9, 21-6).
Nepal’s boxing challenge in Aichi-Nagoya came to a close after Rabin Nepal was defeated by Thailand’s Jakkapong Yomkhot by 5-0 in the men’s 90 kg category.
Nepal’s skateboarder Gajendra Bardewa and Saradh Rai competed in men’s street category where Bardewa earned 52.84 points and Rai collected 59.84 points to end their campaign on heat round.
