India and Pakistan to contest Asian Games cricket final with potential shared gold if washed out

India and Pakistan will battle for Asian Games cricket gold on Saturday. But here is the interesting part: both teams could actually end up winning gold.

The rivals will meet in the men’s cricket final at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan, on October 3.

The match starts at 1.30pm local time, which is 10am in India, 9.30am in Pakistan and 8.30am in the UAE.

India reached the semifinals without playing a single ball in their quarterfinal against Afghanistan after the match was washed out. India progressed because of their higher seeding.

If the final is abandoned and no result is possible, India and Pakistan will share the gold medal.

And that is very different from what happened at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou.

India faced Afghanistan in the 2023 final, but rain prevented the match from being completed. India were awarded gold because they were the higher ranked team.

If Saturday’s final is washed out without a result, both India and Pakistan will walk away with gold medals. India are the higher ranked team, but that will not matter this time. Unlike in 2023, the rules have changed and a washed out final will result in both teams sharing gold.

India are the defending champions and head into the final after beating Sri Lanka by 124 runs in the semifinal.

This will be the first time India and Pakistan have faced each other in men’s cricket at the Asian Games.