Afghanistan began their men’s cricket campaign at the 2026 Asian Games with a 48-run victory over hosts Japan in Nagoya on Thursday.

The reigning Asian Games silver medalists posted 129 runs before bowling Japan out for 81 at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin.

Arab Gul was Afghanistan’s leading bowler with four wickets for eight runs, while Nangeyalia Kharote claimed three for 19 as Afghanistan took control of the match after Japan reached 53 for three in the eighth over.

Japan lost their final eight wickets for just 28 runs.

Reo Sakurano-Thomas top-scored for Japan with 23, while Benjamin Ito-Davis made a quick 17 from eight balls.

Earlier, Afghanistan opener Mohammad Akram scored 34 from 29 balls, while captain Darwish Rasooli made 29 and Karim Janat contributed 21.

Mohammad Ishaq finished unbeaten on 25 from 17 deliveries to help Afghanistan set Japan a target of 130.

The match also marked the international debut of Hassan Eisakhil, son of veteran Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi. Eisakhil was dismissed leg before wicket for three.

Afghanistan will face Nepal in their second Group A match on Friday, September 25, also at Korogi Sports Park.

Tournament format

The men’s cricket competition features 10 teams and is being played in the T20 format.

Six teams are competing in the preliminary group stage, with Afghanistan, Japan and Nepal in Group A, while Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Oman form Group B.

Each team in the preliminary stage plays the other teams in its group once. The top two teams from each group advance to the quarter-finals, where they will meet India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, who received direct entry to the knockout stage.

The quarter-finals are scheduled for September 28 and 29, followed by the semi-finals on October 1.

The bronze-medal match and gold-medal final will both be played on October 3.

All men’s cricket matches are being played at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Aichi.

Afghanistan entered the tournament as the silver medallists from the previous Asian Games, where India won gold and Bangladesh took bronze.

The Afghanistan squad is captained by Darwish Rasooli and includes experienced players such as Karim Janat and Najibullah Zadran, alongside several young players. Mohammad Akram earned his place after impressive domestic league campaigns, while Ismat Alam also joined the squad after being named best player following a domestic league.

Other notable players competing at the Asian Games include India’s Shreyas Iyer and Abhishek Sharma, Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee, Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan and Bangladesh’s Litton Das.

Afghanistan will be looking to build on Thursday’s victory when they take on Nepal on Friday, with a place in the quarter-finals at stake