Asian Games 2023: Men's cricket team bags historic Gold after final game against Afghanistan called off due to rain

Image Source : TWITTER/BCCI India men's cricket team after winning Gold in Asian Games on Oct 7, 2023

India men's cricket team claimed Gold in the Asian Games 2023 after its final match against Afghanistan was called off due to rain. Rain halted the game when Afghanistan were batting at 112 for five while batting first and so India were declared the winner due to their higher seeding in the ICC T20I rankings.

Playing on its last day in the 19th Asiad, the Indian contingent crossed the historic 100-medal mark on Saturday, October 7. India's Gold medals tally reached 28 and both men's and women's cricket teams contributed to it with impressive performance on their debut.

India defeated Nepal and Bangladesh on their road to the men's cricket final while Afghanistan stunned higher-ranked Pakistan in the semifinal. Afghanistan were impressive against Pakistan with a dominant four-wicket win and confirmed the first-ever Silver for the country in the Hangzhou Games 2022.

Indian captain Ruturaj Gaikwad won the toss and elected to bowl first at Zhejiang University of Technology Cricket Field in Hangzhou. Ruturaj's decision to bowl first gave India instant success with Shivam Dube getting the wicket in the second over. Afghanistan's top order struggled against India's impressive bowling attack in the powerplay overs.

Shahidullah and Gulbadin Naib fought back with an unbeaten 60-run stand for the sixth wicket as Afghanistan tried to finish high. But rain interrupted the game during the 19th over and the game was called off by the officials after a break of almost an hour. India were awarded a Gold due to their higher seeding in the ICC rankings and Afghanistan were settled for historic Silver, their first in the 19th Asiad.