The men’s cricket gold medal contest between India and Afghanistan culminated in an anti-climax with heavy rain forcing abandonment after 18.2 overs, and the fancied Indian side took the top spot on the podium, by virtue of having a higher seeding at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou.

On a turning track, India elected to field after winning the toss. Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh, the lone frontline pacer for the Men-in-Blue utilized the overcast conditions well by getting the ball to swing both in the air and off the surface. But it was Shivam Dube, who drew first blood with the wicket of Zubaidi Akbari (5), who mistimed his slog to mid-on in the second over.

Arshdeep soon joined the party by cramping Mohammad Shahzad (4) for room and having him caught-behind in the next over. The Afghan opener was, however, visibly upset at the umpire’s decision as replays later indicated that the ball flicked his right bicep rather than the bat or glove.

Reduced to 9 for 2 by the end of the third over, Ravi Bishnoi inflicted a run-out to further dent the opponents, before Shahidullah (49 not off 43 balls) and Afsar Zazai (15 not out) began the repair work with a 37-run fourth wicket stand that looked threatening once the batters got their eyes in. However, in the 10th over, leg-spinner Bishnoi came up with a beautifully-disguised googly to break the partnership with the wicket of Zazai. Pitched on a length just outside off, the ball jagged back, breezed past the inside edge and crashed into the stumps.

Shahbaz Ahmed then castled Karim Janat an over later to leave Afghanistan tottering at 52 for 5 after 10.5 overs.

With almost nine overs remaining, Afghanistan were in desperate need for some solidity, which captain Gulbadin Naib provided in the company of Shahidullah. The duo rotated the strike well and punished the loose deliveries for boundaries, to forge together an unbeaten 60-run partnership off 45 balls.

Naib was undefeated on 27 off 24 balls while Shahidullah was unbeaten on 49 off 43 balls as they powered Afghanistan to 115 for 5 before rain arrived. For India, Bishnoi was the pick of the bowlers, giving away only 12 runs in his four overs and bagging a wicket. Arshdeep, Dube and Shahbaz scalped a wicket apiece.

Earlier, the women’s cricket team also clinched the gold medal at the 19th Asian Games after beating Sri Lanka in the summit clash.

This was the Indian cricket teams’ first outing at the Asian Games, and the second for the women’s brigade in a multi-discipline event, having won a silver at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.