Bangladesh enter Asian Games cricket semis after Malaysia washout

Bangladesh advance after Malaysia quarter-final is washed out in Nisshin

Bangladesh moved into the semi-finals of the Asian Games Men's Cricket Competition after their quarter-final against Malaysia at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin was washed out by incessant rain more than 90 minutes before the toss on September 29, 2026.

The abandonment made it the sixth consecutive game in the tournament to be called off and the fifth in that sequence without a ball being bowled.

Under the Asian Games seeding rules cited before the match, the higher-ranked side would qualify if the game was washed out, and in this quarter-final that side was Bangladesh.

Bangladesh will now face Pakistan in the first semi-final on October 1 at the same ground, while India take on Sri Lanka.

Rain decides a quarter-final before the toss

The match was listed as the 4th Quarter-Final of the Asian Games Men's Cricket Competition, with Bangladesh and Malaysia scheduled to meet at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin.

Cricinfo’s live coverage opened with “Good day, everyone” at 11.50am before reporting that there was already bad news with over 90 minutes to go for the toss.

The update said the match had “also been washed out because of the incessant rain in Nisshin”.

That outcome ended Malaysia’s campaign without them getting a chance to test Bangladesh on the field in the knockout match.

For Bangladesh, the same washout became a route into the last four because of the tournament’s seeding rules.

The result continued a run of weather-hit matches in Nisshin, where all four games since Saturday had already been abandoned because of bad weather before this fixture, including two quarter-finals.

The washout also matched the pre-match concern that the weather in Nisshin, where the tournament is being hosted, had been torrential.

Before the match, the Nisshin ground was reported to remain under covers, with no cricket played for the past three days.

The game had been scheduled as the second quarter-final of the day, starting at 2pm local time.

Rain had been forecast till at least 6pm local time, creating the possibility that the Bangladesh-Malaysia game could be washed out along with the Nepal-Sri Lanka contest earlier in the day.

Cricbuzz had also reported before the game that Bangladesh’s opening match against Malaysia could be affected by rain because of the lack of a proper drainage system in the cricket field.

An official of the Bangladesh Olympic Association told Cricbuzz that “Even if there is no rain on the match day, still the game can be affected due to lack of proper drainage system, as a part of the ground remains spongy and you cannot play there despite the wicket remaining unaffected”.

Cricbuzz also reported that Bangladesh’s opening day practice session had been disrupted by rain.

The same report noted that Bangladesh women’s national cricket team’s opening game against China had been abandoned due to the same reason.

Why Bangladesh went through

The key rule for this match was straightforward: if the game was washed out, the higher-ranked side would qualify.

Cricinfo said that because of the seeding rules at the Asian Games, the higher-ranked side would go through in a washout, and “in this case, that team is obviously Bangladesh”.

Bangladesh had arrived in Japan after being awarded a bye straight to the quarter-final.

Malaysia, by contrast, had played in the group stage before reaching the knockouts.

Malaysia steamrolled Hong Kong by eight wickets and 48 deliveries to spare in their one completed group-stage match.

Their game against Oman was abandoned, and that result finalised their place in the knockouts.

The washout therefore left Bangladesh in the semi-finals without taking the field in this quarter-final.

Bangladesh’s next confirmed match is against Pakistan in the first semi-final on October 1 at the same ground.

The other semi-final listed in the live update has India taking on Sri Lanka.

A repeat that never became a contest

The Bangladesh-Malaysia fixture had been framed as an Asian Games quarter-final repeat from 2023.

Three years ago, at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, Malaysia played a Full Member nation for the first time in a T20I.

That Full Member opponent was Bangladesh in the quarter-final.

Malaysia restricted Bangladesh to 116 for 5 in that match.

Malaysia then produced what Cricinfo described as a spirited chase but fell short by just two runs.

In the three years since that match, Malaysia had not faced a Full Member team again before this scheduled meeting with Bangladesh.

The preview said the sense of déjà vu might be short-lived because of the torrential weather in Nisshin.

That warning proved relevant once the quarter-final was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

The last completed meeting described in the source therefore remains the 2023 Asian Games quarter-final, where Malaysia lost by two runs after limiting Bangladesh to 116 for 5.

Bangladesh’s medal push continues

Bangladesh had sent what Cricinfo described as a full-strength squad in their bid for a medal.

Bangladesh won the gold medal in the first-ever men’s cricket tournament at the Asian Games, back in 2010.

In the two editions since then, in 2014 and 2023, Bangladesh finished in third place both times.

Before this tournament, captain Litton Das said it was his first time playing in the Asian Games despite having played for Bangladesh for a long time.

“I have played for the Bangladesh team for a long time, but it is my first time playing in the Asian Games,” Litton said.

“We are always targeting trophies but this time the big dream is to win the gold medal,” he said.

“All the players are really excited about it,” he added.

“As a player I will also have my expectations,” Litton said.

“I can tell you that all the players are eager about this tournament,” he said.

The washout keeps that gold-medal bid alive by taking Bangladesh into the semi-finals.

Salahuddin had warned against complacency

Before the quarter-final, Bangladesh head coach Mohammad Salahuddin warned his players not to get complacent against Malaysia.

Cricbuzz reported that Salahuddin gave the warning as Bangladesh prepared to take on Malaysia in the first quarter-final of Asian Games 2026, scheduled on September 29.

Salahuddin said he would be very happy if the match happened, because playing suddenly after five-seven days would become very difficult.

“I will be very happy if the match happens, because if you suddenly play matches after five-seven days then it becomes very difficult,” Salahuddin told reporters in Japan on Sunday.

“So the first match is very important for us,” he said.

Salahuddin also said that practice opportunities were limited in Japan.

“Here you don't really have much opportunity to practice,” he said.

“If you can play matches, then you will actually understand what your condition is,” he added.

The head coach said Bangladesh had a good idea of Malaysia and expected a good match.

“We have a good idea of the team, I think it will be a good match,” Salahuddin said.

“I know everything (about Malaysia) because I have worked in Malaysia for a long time, we know a lot about Malaysia,” he said.

Salahuddin also warned that upsets could happen in such tournaments because matches are played repeatedly on the same wicket and the toss can often be a factor.

“There can be upsets in such tournaments because the game is played on the same wicket again and again, so the toss can be a factor a lot of the time,” he said.

“We know that we have to win by playing and we are preparing mentally accordingly,” he added.

He said Bangladesh should never underestimate opponents.

“You should never underestimate the opponents,” Salahuddin said.

He also described the match as a pressure game because it was in the knockout stage.

“It is also a pressure match because it is a knockout stage,” he said.

“There will always be pressure in the knockout stage,” he added.

“So we should be serious about that match, we can think about the next one later,” he said.

Salahuddin said Bangladesh’s players had been playing together for a long time and understood their roles.

“For a long time we have been playing together with these players,” he said.

“We actually know whose role is what,” he added.

He said the players had been playing in the same positions for a long time and knew what they had to do at different moments.

“So, wherever they are playing, they have been playing in the same position for a long time, now who knows what I have to do at what moment,” he said.

“I think all my players know whose role is what and who will play how,” he concluded.

Form lines and players in focus

Bangladesh’s last T20I outing before the Asian Games was in Zimbabwe in July, when they won a close series 2-1.

Malaysia’s last five completed games were listed as WLLLW, with the most recent first.

Bangladesh’s last five completed games were listed as WWLLL.

Cricinfo’s players in focus before the match were Tanzid Hasan and Virandeep Singh.

Opener Tanzid Hasan had gone to Australia last month looking to prove he was more than a white-ball basher.

He hit a match-winning century, his first in Test cricket, as Bangladesh sealed what Cricinfo called an iconic win in Darwin.

Before that tour, Tanzid’s rich vein of form at the top of the order included two consecutive ODI fifties against Zimbabwe.

He followed those with two more fifties in the T20I series in Harare.

Cricinfo said Tanzid was now back to playing his best format, T20Is.

Virandeep Singh was described as Malaysia’s premier allrounder.

He is Malaysia’s highest run-scorer as well as wicket-taker in T20Is.

He has taken 130 career wickets at an economy rate of 5.42.

Virandeep is also Malaysia’s top run-scorer in T20Is across his seven-year career, with 3515 runs at a strike rate of 127.35 and an average of 37.

He plays for Malaysia along with his brother Pavandeep Singh.

Pavandeep spun out Hong Kong with a three-for in the Asian Games.

Virandeep then took over in the chase with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 32.

The preview said Virandeep would want to continue his prolific returns against Bangladesh.

Team news before the washout

Malaysia’s dominance in their only completed Asian Games fixture meant Cricinfo considered it likely they would stick with the same XI.

Malaysia’s probable XI was listed as Muhammad Haziq Aiman, Syed Aziz (c), Virandeep Singh, Muhamad Syahadat, Muhammad Amir, Ainool Hafizs (wk), Muhammad Wafiq, Pavandeep Singh, Sharvin Muniandy, Muhammad Akram and Vijay Unni.

Ahead of the Asian Games, Bangladesh captain Litton Das said they would be looking to give Yasir Ali more time to settle into the lower-middle order.

Najmul Hossain Shanto was part of the Bangladesh squad but was ruled out due to illness.

Allrounder Mohammad Saifuddin was out of the squad because of a hamstring injury.

Cricinfo said Bangladesh might hand 29-year-old mystery spinner Al Islam his T20I debut.

Bangladesh’s probable XI was listed as Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das (c), Parvez Hossain Emon (wk), Towhid Hridoy (c), Yasir Ali, Mosaddek Hossain, Rishad Hossain, Al Islam, Mahedi Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman and Hasan Mahmud.

Middle-order batter Yasir Ali, whom Bangladesh were keen to give more game-time in the Asian Games, debuted in T20Is in 2022.

He made a comeback in the three-match Zimbabwe series, scoring a fifty and recording a strike rate of 145.76.

The match situation meant none of those selection possibilities could be tested in play at Nisshin.

Conditions had pointed to a low-scoring chance

Before the washout, Cricinfo said the Nisshin surfaces had hosted low-scoring contests so far.

The preview said that if Malaysia and Bangladesh took the field, Malaysia’s bowlers, with their prior experience against Hong Kong, could make it a close contest again.

That possibility was linked to Malaysia’s earlier group-stage performance, where they had beaten Hong Kong by eight wickets and 48 deliveries to spare.

It was also linked to the 2023 meeting, when Malaysia restricted Bangladesh to 116 for 5 and lost by only two runs.

The weather, however, prevented any comparison between the 2023 quarter-final and the scheduled 2026 repeat on the field.

For Malaysia, the abandonment closed a campaign in which their only completed Asian Games match was the emphatic win over Hong Kong.

For Bangladesh, the abandonment extended their tournament without a completed match after their bye to the quarter-final and sent them directly into the semi-final against Pakistan.

The official path forward is now clear: Bangladesh face Pakistan in the first semi-final on October 1 at the same ground, while India take on Sri Lanka.