The men’s cricket competition at the Asian Games got under way in Nisshin on Thursday with wins for Afghanistan and Malaysia in the preliminary round.
Afghanistan too strong for the hosts
Afghanistan made 129 for 6 against Japan, with Mohammad Akram top-scoring with 34 and Darwish Rasooli adding 29. Shoma Sugaya-Slater took 2 for 18 for the hosts.
Japan’s chase fell apart against spin. Gul took 4 for 8 and Kharote 3 for 19 as Japan were bowled out for 81 in 19.3 overs, handing Afghanistan a 48-run win.
Malaysia cruise past Hong Kong
In the second match, Hong Kong slumped from 31 for 2 to 31 for 5 and could only reach 81 for 9 in their 20 overs. Pavandeep Singh and Muhammad Amir took three wickets each, and Malaysia knocked off the target for the loss of two wickets in just 12 overs.
The preliminary round runs until 26 September. The top two teams from each group join the four seeded sides in the quarter-finals.
