The India men's cricket team secured the gold medal for India after their final in the Asian Games 2023 against Afghanistan was washed out. The match was a rain-affected affair, and their opponents only played 18.2 overs, scoring 112 runs for the loss of five wickets.
However, as India were the higher-seeded side in the match, the final was called off, and India, due to their higher seeding, won the gold medal. It was a clean sweep in the cricket competitions at that Asian Games. Meanwhile, Afghanistan had to settle for silver.
Ranked 10th in the ICC's T20I standings, Afghanistan secured the silver medal. Their innings was cut short by rain at 112 for five after 18.2 overs.
This win marked the Indian men's cricket team's inaugural gold in their debut at the Asian Games. While cricket was featured in two prior Asian Games (2010 and 2014), India chose not to participate in either. On the other hand, Afghanistan secured their third successive silver in men's cricket at the Games.
In a related event in Hangzhou, the Indian women's cricket team also bagged a gold in the T20 competition. In the men's final at the Pingfeng Campus Cricket Field, India's choice to field first proved fruitful, as they quickly reduced Afghanistan to 12/3 by the fourth over. Shivam Dube and Arshdeep Singh took out both Afghan openers in back-to-back overs, followed by a run-out of Noor Ali Zadran.
Earlier in the day, the Bangladesh men's cricket team carved out a memorable victory over Pakistan, bagging the bronze medal. In what was a nail-biting finish, the Tigers secured their win using the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method, showcasing resilience and strategic play in challenging conditions.
The highlight of the match was Rakibul Hasan's boundary off the very last delivery, which took Bangladesh to a total of 65 runs in a condensed five-over game. This dramatic finish marked Bangladesh's third-place win, adding another feather to the cap of the team popularly known as the Tigers.
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