LAHORE: The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has released the schedule for the men’s and women’s cricket competitions at the Asian Games, confirming that arch-rivals India and Pakistan can only face each other in the gold-medal final or the bronze-medal playoff.
All matches will be played in the T20 format at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya from September 17 to October 3. Pakistan women begin their campaign on September 17 against Thailand. Semi-finals are scheduled for September 20, followed by the bronze-medal match and final on September 22.
In the men’s competition, the group stage runs from September 24 to 26, with seeded teams — Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka — entering directly at the quarter-final stage. Pakistan will play their quarter-final on September 28 against the team finishing second in Group B. on the other hand, India will face the Group A runners-up on the same day. The men’s semi-finals are scheduled for October 1, while the bronze-medal match and final will take place on October 3. In the 2023 Asian Games in China, India were awarded the gold medal after the final against Afghanistan ended without a result, with seeding rules giving them the edge. Afghanistan took silver, while Pakistan lost the bronze-medal match to Bangladesh. The women’s competition in 2023 saw India claim gold, Sri Lanka secure silver, and Bangladesh defeat Pakistan to take bronze, denying Pakistan a third consecutive gold.
