Sri Lanka defeats Bangladesh to win Asian Games Cricket Bronze Medal

The Sri Lankan team today (October 03) succeeded in winning the bronze medal in the men's cricket event at the 2026 Asian Games. This was achieved by recording an excellent 63-run victory against the Bangladesh team at the Korogi Sports Park in Nishin, Japan.

The Sri Lankan captain, who won the toss, decided to bat first, and this match was recorded as the 4154th match in the history of international T20s. Faisal Afridi and Nitin Menon served as on-field umpires, while Viswanathan Kalidas contributed as the TV umpire.

Batting first, the Sri Lankan team scored 165 runs for the loss of 9 wickets at the end of the allotted 20 overs. The first 4 wickets of the Sri Lankan innings fell for 21 runs within 4 overs, but captain Sahan Arachchige and Tharindu Ratnayake built a valuable partnership together, rescuing the team from a difficult situation. Tharindu Ratnayake, playing a rapid innings, scored 65 runs off 32 balls, including 5 sixes and 7 fours. His strike rate was 203, and he completed his half-century in 26 balls. Through their quick sixth-wicket partnership, their score rose from around 50 to around 140. Arachchige stabilized the middle order, scoring 33 runs off 37 balls.

Among the other batsmen, Ashen Bandara scored 18 runs off 24 balls, Sohan de Livera 6 runs off 4 balls, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 6 runs off 2 balls, and Vanuja Sahan remained unbeaten with 5 runs. Sineth Jayawardena (3), Lasith Croospulle (2), Dushan Hemantha (2), Nuwan Thushara (not out 2), and Nuwanindu Fernando (1) were dismissed for low scores. Bangladesh bowlers conceded 22 extra runs, 17 of which were wides. In bowling, Mahedi Hasan (2/19), Saif Hassan (2/28), and Mustafizur Rahman (2/43) took 2 wickets each, while Al Islam (1/18) and Rishad Hossain (1/46), who played in their maiden international T20 match, took one wicket each. Nazum Ahmed, who bowled 2 overs, failed to take any wickets.

Chasing a winning target of 166 runs, the Bangladesh team was all out for just 102 runs in 17.3 overs. Their top order completely failed, with the first 3 wickets falling for 4 runs and 4 wickets for 18 runs. They failed to build any successful partnerships to chase the target. Nazum Ahmed was the highest scorer for Bangladesh, making 26 runs off 28 balls, while Yasir Ali scored 21 runs and Parvez Hossain Emon scored 20 runs. Towhid Hridoy was dismissed for 11 runs and Rishad Hossain for 10 runs. Captain Litton Das, opening batsmen Saif Hassan and Tanzid Hassan, as well as Mahedi Hasan, all failed to score any runs. Al Islam was dismissed for 4 runs, and Mustafizur Rahman remained unbeaten with 3 runs. Bangladesh received 7 extra runs.

Nuwan Thushara, who started bowling with the new ball, took 2 wickets for 18 runs, dismissing Saif and Litton. Tharindu Ratnayake, who performed well with the bat, also performed well with the ball, taking 2 wickets for 18 runs. Vanuja Sahan (2/17) and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth (2/26) took two wickets each, while captain Sahan Arachchige (1/9) and Dushan Hemantha (1/11) took one wicket each.

Both teams entered the bronze medal match based on their results in the previous rounds of the tournament. Due to rain, all 4 quarter-final matches had to be abandoned without a toss, and accordingly, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, who were higher in the rankings, won their quarter-final matches and qualified for the semi-finals. In the first semi-final held on October 01, Sri Lanka was defeated by India by 124 runs. India scored 169 runs (169/7) with Ishan Kishan's unbeaten innings of 80 runs, while Sri Lanka was bowled out for 45 runs in 9.5 overs. This was recorded as their lowest T20 score, with only Nuwanindu Fernando scoring a double-digit figure of 15 runs. In the other semi-final, which was limited to 13 overs, Pakistan (112/4) managed a 6-wicket victory over Bangladesh (111/7, Towhid Hridoy 42).

Although many predicted that Bangladesh would win against the second-string Sri Lankan team before this match, Sri Lanka secured the bronze medal due to the collapse of Bangladesh's top-order batting. Accordingly, Sri Lanka claimed third place and Bangladesh fourth place. Previously, Bangladesh had won the gold medal at the Asian Games in 2010 and bronze medals in 2014 and 2023. The match for the men's gold medal between India and Pakistan is scheduled to be held today at the same stadium. Meanwhile, medals for the women's cricket event at these Games have already been awarded, with India winning the gold, Sri Lanka the silver, and Pakistan the bronze.