India's Asian Games men's quarter-final opponent to be decided by Nepal v Japan

India's men's cricket team, captained by Shreyas Iyer, will play the second quarter-final of the Asian Games 2026 in Nisshin on September 28 and await an opponent determined from Group A.

The women's cricket competition at the Asian Games 2026 has concluded, with the Indian women's side led by Harmanpreet Kaur winning the gold medal; the men's tournament is still underway and India entered as a top contender. India earned direct qualification to the knockouts after winning the last edition of the men's event.

India are scheduled to feature in the tournament's second quarter-final and will face the side that finishes second in Group A. Group A comprises Afghanistan, Nepal and Japan, and under the competition format each team plays the other two once with the top two advancing to the quarterfinals.

Afghanistan have completed their two group matches, recording a win over Japan and then a defeat to Nepal. Nepal's victory against Afghanistan has given them a big boost in Group A standings.

The final group game between Nepal and Japan will be played on Saturday and will decide India’s opponent. If Nepal beat Japan they will finish top of Group A and India will face Afghanistan in the quarter-final.

If Nepal lose to Japan, all three teams will finish on two points and net run rate will determine the two qualifiers. As of now Afghanistan and Nepal have NRRs of +0.846 and +0.842 respectively, while Japan's NRR is -2.400, so if all three finish with two points each then Nepal will face India in the quarterfinal; for Japan to qualify they need a record win, which looks a little difficult.

India will be in action in Nisshin on September 28 in the quarter-final round, with their opponent confirmed by the outcome of the Nepal v Japan match in Group A.