Afghanistan vs Japan, Asian Games 2026 Cricket: Match Report, Scorecard and Tournament Guide
Afghanistan beat hosts Japan by 48 runs on Thursday, 24 September 2026, in the opening match of the men’s cricket competition at the Asian Games in Nisshin, Aichi-Nagoya. It was a Group A game in the Twenty20 format. Here is the full picture: the scorecard, the players who mattered, and how the tournament works.
Match summary
| Team | Score | Top performers |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 129 for 6 | Mohammad Akram 34, captain Darwish Rasooli 29, Karim Janat 21, Mohammad Ishaq 25 not out (17 balls); Shoma Sugaya-Slater and Ibrahim Takahashi took 2 wickets each for Japan |
| Japan | 81 all out (19.3 overs) | Sakurano-Thomas 23; Arab Gul 4 for 8, Nangeyalia Kharote 3 for 19, Abdollah Ahmadzai 2 for 13 |
Result: Afghanistan won by 48 runs and took two points in the group.
How the match unfolded
- A slow start for Afghanistan. Batting first, they were held to under six runs an over for the first 15 overs, as Japan bowled tightly.
- A strong finish. Mohammad Ishaq’s unbeaten 25 off 17 balls from number six gave the innings late momentum and lifted the total to 129 for 6.
- Japan’s good start. Chasing 130, the hosts reached 53 for 2 in the eighth over.
- The collapse. Right-arm wrist-spinner Arab Gul, playing his T20I debut, took two wickets in the 12th over and two in the 14th, and Japan slid from 60 for 4 to 63 for 8. Ahmadzai and Kharote finished the innings, and Japan were bowled out for 81.
Players to know
- Arab Gul, right-arm wrist-spinner: 4 for 8 on T20I debut, the match-changing spell.
- Nangeyalia Kharote, left-arm spinner: 3 for 19.
- Darwish Rasooli, captain: 29 runs. He was named captain for the Games in place of regular skipper Rashid Khan, leading a young squad with several uncapped players. Read more in our Darwish Rasooli profile.
- Mohammad Akram: the top-scorer with 34.
Asian Games 2026 men’s cricket: tournament guide
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Dates | 24 September to 3 October 2026 |
| Venue | Kōrogi Sports Park, Nisshin, Aichi Prefecture, Japan |
| Format | Twenty20 |
| Teams (10) | Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Japan (hosts), Pakistan, Sri Lanka, plus qualifiers Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nepal and Oman |
| Group stage | The six lowest-seeded teams play in two groups of three, single round-robin, from 24 to 26 September. The top two from each group go to the quarter-finals |
| Byes | The four highest-seeded teams go straight to the quarter-finals |
| Semi-finals | 1 October |
| Bronze-medal match | 3 October, 9:00 am Japan time (5:30 am India time) |
| Gold-medal match | 3 October, 2:00 pm Japan time (10:30 am India time) |
Japan Standard Time is 3 hours 30 minutes ahead of India, so subtract that to get Indian time. On day one, Malaysia also beat Hong Kong by eight wickets. Afghanistan and Japan both have games against Nepal to come in Group A.
What next for Afghanistan
Afghanistan have two group points from their first match. Their next Group A opponent is Nepal, and the top two teams in the group advance to the quarter-finals. Check the official Asian Games schedule for the exact match times.
