When the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games kick off in Japan, cricket will be in the spotlight for the fourth time in a row. The men's and women's matches in Korogi Athletic Park, Aichi Prefecture, will be fast-paced T20 encounters that will bring together the leading lights and rising stars of the sport in the region. Having won golds in both categories in Hangzhou in 2023, India will be firm favorites to defend their titles. But in these compressed T20 games, the difference between winner and loser is likely to be even tighter than usual.
The Women's Event: Direct Knockout Drama At Asian Games
The women's tournament will commence from 17th – 22nd September, beginning with eight teams battling it out in a direct quarter-final knockout format.
Defending champions India will take on hosts Japan in the opening match on September 17, with the winner facing Bangladesh or China in the semi-finals. Pakistan will also begin their campaign on 17 th September with a tie against Thailand, with a possible encounter against Sri Lanka or Malaysia in the semis.
| date | fixture | round |
| September 17 | India vs Japan | Quarter-final |
| September 17 | Bangladesh vs China | Quarter-final |
| September 18 | Sri Lanka vs Malaysia | Quarter-final |
| September 18 | Pakistan vs Thailand | Quarter-final |
| September 20 | Semi-final 1 | Semi-final |
| September 20 | Semi-final 2 | Semi-final |
| September 22 | Bronze-medal match | medal match |
| September 22 | gold medal match | medal match |
The Men's Event: The Group Stage Challenge
The ten teams in the men's competition have been drawn into one preliminary group and one knockout group. The action starts with the preliminary group stage from September 24 to October 3, before the knockout rounds begin.
Top seeds India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh have been seeded directly into the quarter-finals. The other six teams have been split into two preliminary groups and will contest the four quarter-final places:
GROUP A: Afghanistan, Japan, Nepal
GROUP B: Hong Kong China, Malaysia, Oman
The winners of the preliminary matches will face the top-seeded teams in the next round.
| date | fixture | round |
| September 24–26 | Group A and Group B matches |
preliminary round
|
| September 28 | India vs Group B runners-up | Quarter-final |
| September 28 | Pakistan vs Group A runners-up | Quarter-final |
| September 29 | Sri Lanka vs Group B winners | Quarter-final |
| September 29 | Bangladesh vs Group A winners | Quarter-final |
| October 1 | Semi-final 1 | Semi-final |
| October 1 | Semi-final 2 | Semi-final |
| October 3 | Bronze-medal match | medal match |
| October 3 | gold medal match | medal match |
The tournament draw set up a tantalizing men's final, as India was placed in one half of the draw and Pakistan in the other. It means India will play Group B's runners-up while Pakistan will take on Group A's runners-up in the semi-finals, with the two sides not likely to meet before the final day if they each win their matches.
Meanwhile, host nation Japan has made a statement of its ambitions by staging the preliminary matches at the sport's birthplace, and traditional powers are seeking to keep their dominance intact.
Korogi Athletic Park is set to host ten days of tight, exciting T20 cricket, as the region's best teams battle it out for glory.
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