Fresh from a five-wicket victory against Afghanistan, Nepal face hosts Japan at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin on Saturday, Sept. 26, knowing another win would put them in contention for top place in Group A.
Japan vs Nepal Asian Games 2026: Date And Time
The Japan vs Nepal Asian Games 2026 match will be played on Saturday, September 26 at 5:30 a.m. IST. Toss will be held at 5:00 a.m.
Japan vs Nepal Asian Games 2026: Venue
Japan vs Nepal Asian Games 2026 match will be played at Korogi Sports Park, Nisshin, Japan.
Japan vs Nepal Asian Games 2026: Live Telecast In India
The Japan vs Nepal match will be available on Sony Sports Network in India.
Japan vs Nepal Asian Games 2026: Live Streaming In India
The live streaming of the Japan vs Nepal match will be available on the SonyLIV app and website in India.
Asian Games 2026 Cricket Group A Points Table
| Group A | Played | Won | Lost | Points | NRR |
| Afghanistan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.846 |
| Nepal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.842 |
| Japan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -2.400 |
Group A Qualification Scenario: Who Can Face India?
The second-placed team from Group A will face India in the quarter-final on Monday, September 28. Ahead of the Japan vs Nepal match, any of the three teams in the group—Japan, Nepal or Afghanistan—could finish second.
If Nepal win, they will top the group, with Afghanistan moving into second place. The situation gets tricky if Japan win, as victory alone will not be enough to secure second place. Japan will need to overturn Nepal's NRR advantage. If they win by a smaller margin, Nepal will retain second place and progress to the quarter-final. However, a sufficiently big victory could lift Japan above Nepal on NRR and send them through as the second-placed team.
Japan vs Nepal T20I Head-To-Head Record
- Matches Played: 1
- Japan Won: 0
- Nepal Won: 1
The only T20I meeting between the two sides came during the ICC Mens T20 World Cup East Asia Pacific Qualifier 2025, when Nepal won by five wickets.
Japan vs Nepal Asian Games 2026: Probable XI
- Japan: Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake, Wataru Miyauchi, Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming (c), Alexander Shirai-Patmore (wk), Benjamin Ito-Davis, Ibrahim Takahashi, Reo Sakurano-Thomas, Declan Suzuki-McComb, Shoma Sugaya-Slater, Charlie Hara-Hinze, Makoto Taniyama
- Nepal: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Rohit Paudel, Dipendra Singh Airee (c), Kushal Malla, Gulsan Jha, Sundeep Jora, Lokesh Bam, Sandeep Lamichhane, Karan KC, Lalit Rajbanshi
Japan vs Nepal Preview
Nepal's bowlers restricted Afghanistan to 102/7 before their batters completed the chase with 16 balls to spare.
Lalit Rajbanshi set the tone for Nepal with an impressive spell of 3/13. Kushal Bhurtel then claimed 4/21, breaking up Afghanistan's middle order.
Japan will enter Saturday's meeting with Nepal determined to recover from their opening-round setback against Afghanistan. Their bowlers produced an encouraging display as Ibrahim Takahashi and Shoma Sugaya-Slater picked up 2/19 and 2/18 respectively, restricting Afghanistan to 129/6. The chase was a different story, with Japan's batting order unable to withstand the pressure and dismissed for 81 in 20 overs.
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Japan vs Nepal Asian Games 2026: Squads
Japan: Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming (c), Charlie Hara-Hinze, Benjamin Ito-Davis, Alester Kadowaki-Fleming, Kohei Kubota, Jake Kusuda-Nairn, Wataru Miyauchi, Reo Sakurano-Thomas, Alex Shirai-Patmore, Shoma Sugaya-Slater, Declan Suzuki, Tsuyoshi Takada, Ibrahim Takahashi, Makoto Taniyama, Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake
Nepal: Dipendra Singh Airee (c), Rohit Kumar Paudel, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Aarif Sheikh, Aasif Sheikh, Kushal Bhurtel, Lalit Rajbanshi, Gulsan Kumar Jha, Nandan Yadav, Lokesh Bam, Sundeep Jora, Sher Malla, Kushal Malla
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