A picturesque venue, ‘points’ instead of runs, a tutorial, rains, world records getting broken and the winner decided on seeding — cricket’s return to the Asian Games was received warmly (albeit not by the weather) in Hangzhou. What was probably missing was an outrage following a run-out at the non-striker’s end to find out what China’s take on the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ is.
The cricket tournament at the Asiad received a shot in the arm when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sent both its men’s and women’s teams to China. And it was the Indians, who boasted strong squads, despite the men not sending their first team, who walked away with both gold medals in their maiden appearances.
While it was the native Chinese who had snapped up the majority of tickets for the games, it was the Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan crowd who came in from around the country to add colour to the contests. While the Chinese were busy using paper fans to help beat the heat, the expats were making all the noise. Before the start of each match, the giant screen at the ground would run a 10-minute long explainer, where runs were referred to as points, for the locals to get a quick 101 as they settled in for the day. The organisers would have loved an India v Pakistan contest in both tournaments but both teams were separated from each other until a possible final meeting, which never came.
On the fast track: Fast bowler Titas Sadhu (far right) delivered crucial spells in the semifinals and the final to help India team win the top prize. | Photo Credit: AFP
The event began with the women’s tournament with India’s path to gold being fairly straightforward. Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues all came good but India would be pleased with how teenager Titas Sadhu, the next fast bowling hope, rose to the occasion. Her spells in the semifinals and the final paved the victories for Harmanpreet Kaur’s team to win the top prize. The win also would have helped ease the pain of the loss in the final of the Commonwealth Games last year.
In Hangzhou, cricket’s quirks and rules were summed up by the bronze and gold medal matches on the final day. In the first match, Bangladesh chased down 65 runs in five overs (DLS method), including a last-ball boundary, to edge Pakistan to the bronze medal. In the gold medal match, just one team batted, but the team which didn’t ended up winning the final.
The short boundaries, which were just 42 metres from the square, led to a flurry of fours and sixes, but the two surfaces being used over 28 matches meant the bowlers’ skills came into play in the latter stages of the tournament. The Nepal men’s team made the most of the dimensions when it pulverised Mongolia to rewrite record books. They now hold the highest men’s T20I score, the fastest hundred and the fastest fifty, and the biggest win in terms of run margin in the format.
The victorious Indian women’s cricket team. | Photo Credit: PTI
The disparity in quality between the established teams and the newly-included teams like the Mongolian men’s team — which was playing its first-ever international match — was stark at the Asian Games. While teams from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan all had their second-string teams, they were years ahead of the first-choice players from Japan, Hong Kong China, Mongolia and Maldives.
Japan, with half its squad made up of Australian players, who have Japanese parents, doesn’t even have a professional set-up for cricket. One of its brightest young talents, Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake, works as a chef.
Japan, Cambodia, Mongolia, Thailand, Singapore, and Maldives were eliminated at the end of the group stages with Nepal, Hong Kong China and Malaysia progressing to the knockouts to face the seeded teams.
The victorious Indian men’s cricket team. | Photo Credit: PTI
Afghanistan was the one team to watch out for after its wins over Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the semifinals. Its bowling came to the fore by stifling both Sri Lanka and Pakistan, but it didn’t have the chance to do so in the final against India. After a rocky start, Afghanistan had recovered to look good for a 130-plus score, which would have allowed its bowlers to have a real go at the Indian batters.
But when rain washed out the game, India was awarded the win and the gold medal because of its higher seeding, based on the International Cricket Committee (ICC) T20I rankings. “This silver means everything to us,” said Afghanistan skipper Gulbadin Naib.
At nightfall, the Indian players celebrated in the rain. “We are not used to winning medals. We are all very emotional,” said India skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad.
With the International Olympic Committee (IOC) session set to take place later this week, which will determine the inclusion of the sport in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the Asian Games tournament, with limited resources at its disposal, came at the right time to help make a case.
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