India’s Asian Games Quarter-Final Against Afghanistan Faces Rain Risk

Defending champions India could face a weather interruption when they meet Afghanistan in the second cricket quarter-final of the Asian Games at Korogi Sports Park on Monday.

Showers are forecast throughout the day in Nisshin, raising concerns over whether the knockout fixture will take place as scheduled.

AccuWeather has forecast a 97 per cent probability of precipitation in the city on Monday.

Pakistan will face Hong Kong, China, in the opening quarter-final before India begin their match against Afghanistan.

The first quarter-final will start at 9 AM local time, or 5:30 AM IST, while India’s match is scheduled for 1.30 PM local time, corresponding to 10 AM IST. The toss for the India-Afghanistan fixture is expected at 1 PM local time.

Rain probability stands at 69 per cent at 8 AM and 70 per cent at 9 AM. The figure falls to 49 per cent at 10 AM. It then climbs to 75 per cent at 11 AM and 71 per cent at noon.

At 1 PM, the forecast shows a 40 per cent chance of rain. The probability is expected to dip to 34 per cent at 2 PM, before reaching 40 per cent at 3 PM.

Rain chances are forecast to rise to 58 per cent at 4 PM. They are expected to reach 49 per cent at 5 PM and 60 per cent at 6 PM, before easing to 49 per cent at 7 PM.

Rankings Could Decide Result

A complete washout could see India and Pakistan advance from their respective quarter-finals under the tournament’s ranking-based provision.

India currently occupy the top spot in the ICC T20I rankings, while Afghanistan are placed 10th. Pakistan rank sixth and Hong Kong, China, are 24th.

The same situation occurred during the 2023 Asian Games cricket final. Rain prevented India and Afghanistan from completing the match, after which India claimed the gold medal because of their higher ranking.

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