Bangladesh and Sri Lanka play off for Asian Games cricket bronze in Nisshin

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka faced off in the men's cricket bronze-medal match of the 2026 Asian Games on Saturday, October 3, at the Aichi Prefectural Kōrogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan, according to cricket news outlet CricketAddictor. The same source listed a 9:00 a.m. local start, while a live score centre run by Australia's ABC News showed the fixture starting at 10:00 a.m.

Both teams reached the play-off after losing their semifinals two days earlier. Sri Lanka won the toss and batted, posting 165 for 9 off their 20 overs, according to the ABC News score centre. Bangladesh's reply was still under way when that score feed was last updated, with the team at 50 for 5 after 8.2 overs.

How both teams got here

Sri Lanka's semifinal against India on October 1 produced their lowest total in men's T20 International history. Chasing a target after India scored 169 for 7, Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 45 in 9.5 overs, according to sports outlet SportsAdda. That beat Sri Lanka's previous T20I low of 77, made against South Africa at the 2024 T20 World Cup, the same outlet reported. Only batter Nuwanidu Fernando reached double figures, scoring 15; three Sri Lankan batters were also run out. SportsAdda reported India's wickets were shared by Jasprit Bumrah (2 for 7), Abhishek Sharma (2 for 2) and Axar Patel (2 for 8). India won by 124 runs.

Bangladesh lost their semifinal to Pakistan on the same day in a match shortened by a wet outfield. CricketAddictor reported Bangladesh posted 111 for 7 in a reduced 13-over innings, with Towhid Hridoy top-scoring on 42, before Pakistan chased the target down in 12.4 overs. Wikipedia's page on the men's tournament gives a slightly different chase length, stating Pakistan reached 112 for 4 in 11.3 overs.

Why Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and not India or Pakistan

Under the Asian Games cricket format, the two semifinal losers play each other for bronze while the two semifinal winners meet for gold. India and Pakistan, both winners of their semifinals, were scheduled to contest the men's gold medal later on October 3, according to CricketAddictor and the Wikipedia page on the men's tournament.

SportsAdda noted that Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have each previously won Asian Games cricket medals, with Bangladesh seeking its fourth medal across the event's history.

Tournament format

The men's competition opened with a preliminary round from September 24–26 involving the six lowest-seeded teams, split into two groups of three, according to the Wikipedia page on the men's tournament. In Group A, Nepal finished first ahead of Afghanistan, eliminating hosts Japan. In Group B, Malaysia topped the group ahead of Hong Kong, eliminating Oman. The top two finishers from each group then joined four higher-ranked teams, who had received automatic byes based on ICC rankings, in the quarterfinals.

At the time the sources used for this article were last checked, the men's bronze-medal result between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had not been confirmed as final; Bangladesh's run chase was still in progress according to the ABC News live score centre.