Nepal seek redemption against Afghanistan in Asian Games cricket, 12 years after Incheon defeat
Nepal face Afghanistan on Friday in a Group A cricket match at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan — Nepal's tournament opener, after Afghanistan already beat hosts Japan, though sources differ on the winning margin.
The match in Nagoya
On Friday, September 25, Nepal and Afghanistan's men's cricket teams meet in a Group A fixture of the 20th Asian Games at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, near Nagoya, Japan. According to Ratopati, the match starts at 10:45am Nepal time. It is Nepal's opening game of the tournament, while Afghanistan already has one match under its belt, having beaten hosts Japan on Thursday.
Sources disagree on the margin of that win: The Kathmandu Post reports an 81-run victory, with Afghanistan posting 129/6 before bowling Japan out for 81 in 19.3 overs, while India Fantasy and Ratopati both cite a 48-run win.
Afghanistan, Nepal and host nation Japan make up Group A, while Hong Kong, Malaysia and Oman form Group B. The top two teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals, joining India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, who received direct byes. The gold-medal match is scheduled for October 3, according to Ratopati.
History and squads
Nepal and Afghanistan have met only once in T20 international cricket — at the 2014 ICC World T20 in Chattogram, Bangladesh, where Nepal pulled off a surprise 9-run win. That same year, however, the two sides also clashed in the Incheon Asian Games quarterfinal, and that meeting ended in heartbreak for Nepal: after restricting Afghanistan to 119/9, the Nepalis could only muster 111/7 in reply, losing by eight runs. As The Kathmandu Post notes, fast bowler Sompal Kami is the only player remaining from that 2014 squad.
Nepal arrives in Japan fresh off winning the ACC Premier Cup in Malaysia, which secured a place at the 2027 Asia Cup alongside India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The squad, led by captain Dipendra Singh Airee, also sees the return of Kushal Bhurtel, Kushal Malla, Aarif Sheikh and Nandan Yadav. Afghanistan, meanwhile, is missing several key players, including captain Rashid Khan — a factor India Fantasy suggests makes this year's side weaker than the dominant Afghan teams of recent years.
At the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, Nepal set world records while piling up 314 runs against Mongolia, only to be eliminated in the quarterfinals by India — continuing a pattern in which Nepal has reached the last eight in all three of its Asian Games appearances, each time falling to a Test-playing nation.
