The cricket final at the Pingfeng Cricket Campus was called off due to heavy rain. This caused disappointment amongst the fans and also prevented Afghanistan from fighting for a gold medal. India men’s cricket team was awarded the win and the gold medal due to their higher ranking in the Asian Games tournament. Despite the cancellation, the Indian team celebrated in the rain, creating a unique tournament experience for everyone involved.
Celebration after Indian Cricket Team Wins Gold Medal at Asian Games
Well done #TeamIndia! 🇮🇳
The @Ruutu1331-led side clinch a Gold 🥇 Medal at the Asian Games! 👏👏#IndiaAtAG22 | #AsianGames pic.twitter.com/UUcKNzrk0N
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 7, 2023
India had performed exceptionally well throughout the three matches, and Ruturaj Gaikwad‘s team appeared to be in a strong position to win the top prize. Afghanistan, on the other hand, had a solid outing and would feel hard done by the rain, especially after recovering from an early collapse to post a total of 112/5 in 18.2 overs.
The final took place under lights after a delayed start due to a brief rain spell. The pitch offered bounce, and Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, and Sai Kishore took advantage of it during the batting powerplay.
The Afghan openers fell victim to the extra bounce on the surface. Akbari’s mistimed shot was caught by Arshdeep, while Shahzad was given out caught behind even though the ball had hit his shoulders. Noor Ali Zadran was dismissed due to a poor second run call and was left short of his crease thanks to quick work from Jitesh Sharma.
Washington and Kishore, the spinners, returned for another spell and made it difficult for the Afghan batters. Ravi Bishnoi was particularly impressive, bamboozling the batsmen with his googlies and eventually taking a wicket. Shahbaz Ahmed cleaned up Karim Janat with a well-executed delivery.
However, Shahidullah and skipper Gulbadan Naib then put together a crucial 60-run partnership, halting Afghanistan’s slide and taking them past the 100-run mark. Shahidullah took advantage of loose deliveries, while Gulbadan hit a six off Kishore. The two set batsmen looked set to accelerate the scoring further when the rain returned, leading both teams off the field before 4 p.m.
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