India gifted Asian Games cricket gold over Afghanistan by ranking rule

Monday, 9 October 2023 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

India were declared winners of the final under Asian Games-specific rule after the game was washed out by rain
Bangladesh wins Bronze

Gifted an armchair ride by Asian Games organisers, India has taken gold in men’s cricket as the rain-hit T20 final against Afghanistan was decided by the superpower’s superior global ranking.

Afghanistan, ranked 10th in the ICC’s T20 rankings versus world number one India, was left with silver on Saturday and powerless to do anything about it after rain halted the match when they were 112 for five after 18.2 overs of the first innings.

With India unable to bat a minimum of five overs, and play was abandoned soon after 5 p.m. local time (09:00 GMT), leaving Ruturaj Gaikwad’s team to celebrate victory by default.

Deciding results based purely on teams’ global rankings is almost unheard of in cricket, let alone for finals in major tournaments.

Most allow spare days so that deciders can be completed if rain washes out play in the original match.

If no spare days are provided, a winner is generally declared via tie-breaking criteria based on a team’s performances within the tournament they are playing.

Twenty20 cricket has been played at the Asian Games twice before, at Guangzhou 2010 and Incheon 2014, with Bangladesh and then Sri Lanka crowned men’s winners.

Afghanistan were runners-up both times, but India did not take part.

The rankings rule also helped India’s gold medal-winning women’s team reach the semifinals after rain washed out their quarterfinal against Malaysia. India went on to beat Sri Lanka by 19 runs to be crowned women’s champions last week.

Rain also hit the men’s bronze medal playoff won by Bangladesh against Pakistan but held off long enough to at least ensure a contest between the teams.