India stumble to 7 wickets down after Shivam Dube falls to a stunning catch by Sri Lanka's captain
Playing their tournament opener due to rain-washed quarter-finals, India defend a tricky 169 on a cracked pitch
The winner advances to face Pakistan in the gold-medal final on Saturday, October 3
BLINDER AT COVER! Arachchige's Stunning One-Handed Grab Stuns Dube: Watch
India's title defense in Nisshin faltered to seven wickets down as Sri Lanka fought back on a tricky pitch. The winner of this tense semi-final will advance to face Pakistan in the gold-medal match on October 3
Summary
India and Sri Lanka met in the second Asian Games men's semi-final at Nisshin on October 01, with a place in Saturday's gold-medal final against Pakistan on the line. Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bowl on a pitch full of cracks, and India's batters found run-scoring far from easy, with the spinners in play throughout.
Then came the moment that stood out. Sri Lanka captain Sahan Arachchige flung himself to his left at cover, plucked a rocket of a drive from Shivam Dube out of the air with one hand and held on as he hit the ground. The catch handed Tharindu Ratnayake the wicket and left both batter and bowler stunned.
Arachchige Takes One-Handed Stunner - Watch
India are at the Asian Games 2026 as defending champions, but their title defence has been far from conventional. All four quarter-finals were washed out without a ball bowled, which put the four seeded teams straight into the semi-finals.
That made this semi-final India's tournament opener. They went in without a single ball bowled in Nisshin, and they leaned on the batting power of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ishan Kishan, who put together major contributions on a tricky, cracked pitch to take India to 169 and a target that looked above par. Sri Lanka then began their chase in trouble.
With the semi-final on, India now have one eye on Saturday, October 3. The winner of this clash will face Pakistan in the gold-medal final, while the loser plays for bronze. A place in the final means a shot at keeping the Asian Games gold they won in Hangzhou, this time against one of the toughest opponents in the continent.
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