India to face Sri Lanka in Asian Games cricket semifinal on October 1

The second semifinal of the Asian Games cricket tournament will be played between India and Sri Lanka. The match will begin at 10:30 am Indian time on October 1. The Indian team had already reached the last four, and Sri Lanka has now joined them in the semifinals.

Bad weather is affecting the tournament's cricket matches. The third quarterfinal, between Sri Lanka and Nepal, was scheduled for 5:30 am today but was called off because of continuous rain. Sri Lanka advanced to the semifinals on the basis of better seeding.

The fourth and last quarterfinal of the day, between Bangladesh and Malaysia, was also washed out by rain. Bangladesh, too, entered the semifinals on the strength of its better seeding. This means the first semifinal will be played between Pakistan and Bangladesh. There is keen curiosity over which team will reach the final. Fans want the Indian team to play in a manner that upholds its honour.

India are the defending champions. They last won the gold medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, which was the first time cricket was included in the Games. The Indian team was then captained by Ruturaj Gaikwad. In the rain-affected final, Afghanistan batted first and scored 112 for 5 in 18.2 overs. Rain then returned and the match could not be continued. India won the gold on the basis of their higher ranking without having batted.

The Indian squad comprises Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Vipraj Nigam, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh and Vaibhav Suryavanshi.

The Sri Lankan squad comprises Sahan Arachchige (captain), Ashen Bandara, Lasith Croospulle, Sohan de Livera, Niroshan Dickwella (wicketkeeper), Binura Fernando, Nuwanidu Fernando, Tharindu Rathnayake, Dushan Hemantha, Sineth Jayawardene, Chamika Karunaratne, Garuka Sanketh, Wanuja Sahan, Nuwan Thushara and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth.