India’s men’s team defeated Afghanistan in the Asian Games final to win an unprecedented gold medal in cricket. Because of the rain that caused the game to be called off after the first inning, it is noteworthy that the team captained by Ruturaj Gaikwad was given the gold medal because they are ranked higher than Afghanistan.
The BCCI sent a backup Indian team to the Asian Games because the starting lineup will be competing in the ICC World Cup in 2023. The Men in Blue defeated Bangladesh and Nepal on their way to the championship game’s final.
When the game was stopped due to rain in the final, Afghanistan had scored 112/5 after 18.2 overs of batting first. With the victory, India increased their total number of gold medals won to 27 and finished the competition with 100 total medals, meeting their goal.
When they defeated Sri Lanka in the Asian Games finals, the women’s cricket team also took home the gold medal. Due to the higher seeded team moving further rule, even the women’s side received a bye into the semi-finals at the Asian Games.
