Rain Washes Out Japan Chase As Nepal, Afghanistan Reach Quarter-Finals

Rain wiped out Japan’s chase before it could begin after Nepal had posted 149 for 4 in a shortened 15-over Asian Games men’s cricket contest in Nisshin.

The abandoned match ended Japan’s campaign, while Nepal and Afghanistan advanced from the group stage to the quarter-finals.

Rain ends Japan’s campaign

The contest between Japan and Nepal finished as a washout at the Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin after another spell of rain brought an abrupt end to proceedings.

Japan had been set a steep target after Nepal reached 149 for 4 in 15 overs, but the chase was washed out in its entirety.

Cricinfo described the chase as one Japan “will never know” whether they could have pulled off or even got close to completing.

The match was recorded as abandoned, with Nepal 149 for 4 against Japan and no Japanese chase possible.

Cricbuzz’s brief scores listed Nepal at 149/4 in 15 overs, with no result due to rain.

The washout gave Japan a lone point, but that was not enough to keep the hosts in the competition.

Cricinfo reported that the result meant Nepal topped Group A in the first round of the men’s competition.

The same report said Afghanistan were the second team from the group to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Cricbuzz also reported that Afghanistan and Nepal progressed to the quarterfinal stage, while Japan were eliminated.

Cricbuzz’s report later listed Nepal as topping Group B with three points and facing Sri Lanka in the quarterfinal clash on Tuesday (September 29).

It also said Afghanistan would play India in their quarterfinal encounter on Monday, a match it described as a repeat of the 2023 final in Hangzhou.

Nepal asked to bat after interruptions

Japan asked Nepal to bat first in a match that had already been affected by rain before and during Nepal’s innings.

Cricinfo reported rain interruptions before the innings and again during the fifth over.

Despite the disrupted rhythm, Nepal put up what both reports described as a strong or imposing total in the truncated 15-over affair.

Nepal’s innings was built around unbeaten half-centuries from Sundeep Jora and Lokesh Bam.

Jora top-scored for Nepal with an unbeaten 57 in 32 balls.

Bam finished unbeaten on 52 off 22 balls.

Together, their scoring pushed the game away from Japan in the final phase of Nepal’s innings.

Early wickets kept Japan interested

Nepal’s start was not fluent, with Kushal Bhurtel falling for a 12-ball 4.

Cricinfo noted that Kushal Bhurtel, Kushal Malla and Gulsan Jha all fell for single-digit scores.

Cricbuzz reported that Kushal Malla and Gulsan Jha departed for identical scores of 2.

Aasif Sheikh was the only Nepal batter outside Jora and Bam to make a notable contribution, scoring 21 off 15 balls.

Jora, who walked in at No. 3 in the third over, began to shift the tempo with boundaries.

Cricbuzz reported that Jora broke free with a six and a four in the fourth over.

He then built on that start and raced to 30 off 16 balls.

Sheikh brought up the 50-run partnership with Jora by hitting a six.

That stand was eventually worth 55 runs for the second wicket.

Sheikh was dismissed by Jake Kusuda-Nairn after that partnership had helped stabilise Nepal’s innings.

By the end of the tenth over, Nepal were 84 for 4 with five overs remaining.

Cricinfo reported that Nepal might have been happy with that position, given Jora’s partnership with Sheikh and the overs still available.

Bam changes the finish

The momentum changed sharply after Lokesh Bam joined Jora.

Cricinfo wrote that once Bam joined Jora, “the game seemed to go away from Japan quite quickly.”

Bam opened his account with a four and then struck consecutive sixes off Declan Suzuki-McComb.

Jora reached his fifty before Bam dominated the closing overs with a series of sixes.

Bam hit two sixes off Charlie Hara-Hinze in the penultimate over.

He then struck two more sixes off Ibrahim Takahashi in the last over.

Bam’s unbeaten 52 came from just 22 balls and included one four and six sixes.

Jora’s unbeaten 57 from 32 balls included five fours and three sixes.

Their unbeaten half-centuries lifted Nepal to 149 in their allotted 15 overs.

Japan exit after promising patches

Reo Sakurano-Thomas was listed with figures of 1-7 in the match summary.

Cricbuzz’s brief scores also listed Reo Sakurano-Thomas at 1-7 and Declan Suzuki-McComb at 1-19.

Japan had previously impressed with the ball against Afghanistan in their opening game.

They had also done well with the ball against India in the one-off T20I before the Asian Games fixture.

Cricinfo noted, however, that Japan had fallen short with the bat.

Japan exited the event having “impressed in patches,” according to Cricinfo.

For Nepal, the washout still brought progress because their batting effort and the no-result left them on top of the group position reported by the sources.

For Japan, the same rain that stopped the chase also ended any chance to turn a difficult target into a qualification push.