Asian Games cricket: India men to start Sept 28, women face Japan on Sept 18

India's men's cricket side, led by Shreyas Iyer, will begin its Asian Games campaign in Japan on September 28 with a direct entry into the quarter-finals; the women's team, captained by Harmanpreet Kaur, will open their tournament against Japan on September 18 and also start from the quarter-final stage.

Both Indian sides enter the competition as seeded teams and were described in the source as firm favourites for gold after sweeping the cricket events at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou. The men's tournament features 10 teams, with India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka given direct berths into the last eight. The remaining six nations must advance through group-stage play, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the quarter-finals. The women's final is scheduled for September 22 and the men's final for October 3.

India has been placed in Quarter-final 2 while Pakistan occupies Quarter-final 1. India will meet the second-placed team from Group A, which contains Afghanistan, Japan and Nepal. Pakistan will face the runners-up from Group B, whose members are Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Oman.

The semi-final bracket pairs the winner of Quarter-final 1 with the winner of Quarter-final 3 and pairs the winner of Quarter-final 2 with the winner of Quarter-final 4. The semi-finals are scheduled for October 1. Because of that draw, India and Pakistan are on opposite sides of the bracket and cannot meet in the semi-final stage.

If both India and Pakistan win their quarter-finals and then their respective semi-finals, they can meet only in the gold-medal match on October 3. Should either side lose in the semi-finals, a potential India–Pakistan meeting could occur in the bronze-medal play-off, which is also set for October 3.

India's women's team will begin its campaign on September 18 against Japan and will be defending the gold medal it won in Hangzhou. The women's pathway runs from that quarter-final start through to the final on September 22.

Confirmed upcoming fixtures for India are the women's quarter-final against Japan on September 18 and the men's quarter-final slot on September 28 against the second-placed side from Group A; the tournament's semi-finals are scheduled for October 1 and the men's gold-medal match for October 3.