Rain, Not Sri Lanka, Knocks Nepal Out of Asian Games Cricket

Nepal is out of the Asian Games cricket tournament in Japan. Rain washed out the men's quarterfinal against Sri Lanka on Monday, September 28, at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, and Nepal was eliminated without bowling a single ball, Nepal Khabar and Hamro Patro reported. Sri Lanka advances to the semifinal on ICC T20I ranking, both outlets said.

For a Nepali cricket fan, that is the whole story in one line. Nepal topped Group A unbeaten. The team walked into the quarterfinal in form. None of it mattered once the rain came, because the tournament runs on a rule that has nothing to do with runs or wickets.

Ratopati reported the match was set for 5:45am Nepal time at Korogi Sports Park, after Nepal finished as winners of Group A in the 20th Asian Games. The Kathmandu Post had reported before the match that the knockout stage carries no reserve day, so a total washout hands the win to the higher-ranked side, in this case Sri Lanka. Nepal's own head coach Stuart Law told the paper "You can't control the weather," and said conditions were not looking good for Nepal going into the game.

This was not the first time weather had decided a Nepal fixture this week. The Kathmandu Post reported that Nepal's final group match against Japan was also abandoned because of rain, though Nepal still advanced as group winner on points from earlier games.

What the coverage missed

Nepal's exit fits a pattern the pre-match previews did not connect to Nepal's own fate. Sankalpa Khabar reported that two other quarterfinals this week had already been washed out, sending India and Pakistan through to the semifinal without playing a ball, on ICC ranking. Wikipedia's tournament page, accessed September 29, also records that no play was possible in Pakistan against Hong Kong and that Pakistan went through as the higher seeded team. Add Nepal's washout and rain and ranking, not cricket, decided three of this week's quarterfinals.

Ranking has settled a Games final before. Yahoo Sports reported that India's only previous men's cricket gold at the Games, at Hangzhou in 2023, also came down to the no reserve day rule. Afghanistan had batted and reached 112 for 5 in 18.2 overs when rain ended the final with no result, ESPNcricinfo's scorecard shows. India, who had not batted, won gold as the side ranked higher.

The format works against Nepal twice over, not once. ESPNcricinfo's match preview noted that three of the last four games in this tournament had already ended without a toss. Wikipedia's tournament page also shows the top four ICC-ranked teams received automatic byes straight into the quarterfinals, skipping the group stage. Nepal, ranked lower, had to win through a three-team preliminary group first, then went out on the same ranking rule that had already carried India and Pakistan through.

Nepal and Sri Lanka have lost a scheduled match to rain before. ESPNcricinfo reported that the two sides' last meeting, at the 2024 T20 World Cup, "was washed out without even the toss." Monday's result is the second time in two years these two teams have failed to play a scheduled game against each other.

What we still do not know

No outlet has reported whether the Cricket Association of Nepal, the Asian Cricket Council or the Olympic Council of Asia will review the no reserve day rule after it decided Nepal's exit and two other quarterfinals in the same week.

Whether coach Stuart Law or the Cricket Association of Nepal lodged any formal protest with tournament organisers, beyond his comments to reporters, has not been reported.