India wins the semi-final after Sri Lanka was disgracefully all out for 45.

The Indian team today (October 01) recorded a massive 124-run victory over Sri Lanka in the second semi-final of the Men's T20 Cricket tournament at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. With this victory in the match held at Korogi Sports Park in Nishin, India qualified for the gold medal match against Pakistan on October 03.

Sri Lankan captain Sahan Arachchige, who won the toss, decided to field first, and accordingly, the Indian batsmen who entered the field scored 169 runs for the loss of 7 wickets at the end of the stipulated 20 overs.

Ishan Kishan, who performed well with the bat, strengthened the Indian innings by scoring an unbeaten 80 runs off 46 balls, including 5 sixes and 4 fours. He was ably supported by 15-year-old young player Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who scored a quick 38 runs off 21 balls. It was noteworthy that the Sri Lankan team bowled only two overs of fast bowling on a pitch that was favorable to spin bowlers and had uneven bounce. Tharindu Ratnayake, a bowler who can bowl with both hands, and Sahan Arachchige took 2 wickets each, while Vanuja Sahan, Lasith Croospulle, and Nuwanindu Fernando took one wicket each.

Chasing a massive target of 170 runs, the Sri Lankan team could only manage 45 runs all out in 9.5 overs. In the very first over of the Sri Lankan innings, Jasprit Bumrah managed to dismiss Sineth Jayawardena and Sohan de Livera before they could score, after which the Sri Lankan innings suffered a severe collapse. Axar Patel sent captain Sahan Arachchige back to the pavilion for 09 runs and Ashen Bandara before he could score a run. The last three wickets of the Sri Lankan innings were recorded as a team hat-trick, with Tharindu Ratnayake being run out, and Chamika Karunaratne and Binura Fernando being dismissed on consecutive balls by Abhishek Sharma.

Since all four quarter-final matches of this tournament had to be abandoned without a single ball being bowled due to rain, this was the first match faced by both teams in the tournament. With the weather improving, the match was successfully completed under warm conditions of about 30 degrees Celsius, and in the first semi-final held earlier, Pakistan qualified for the final by defeating Bangladesh. Accordingly, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are scheduled to compete for the bronze medal. India, who won the men's cricket gold medal at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, has once again asserted its dominance, and it is also noteworthy that their women's team also won the gold medal at this year's Games by defeating Sri Lanka on September 22.