The men's cricket competition at the 2023 Asian Games started on Thursday, September 27 with a Group A clash between fast-rising Nepal and newbies from Mongolia. In the second match, a Group B fixture, Japan defeated Cambodia by 3 wickets at Zhejiang University of Technology Cricket Field, Hangzhou, China. Cambodia batted first and scored 125/7 runs in their 20 overs. Japan chased down the target with 11 balls to spare. Japanese captain Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming played a captain's knock, scoring 35 runs in 23 balls with the help of 2 sixes and as many fours. Catch JPN vs CAM highlights and score. (Scorecard | Full Coverage | Cricket News)
Japan Wins!
Cambodian bowler fought well, but it was the day for the Japanese top order who scored runs and D Mccomb's crucial inning at the end made the difference.
JPN - 126/7 (18.1)
Japan need just 4 runs in 24 balls
Japanese batsmen have shown character and patience in the match and are moving forward to the win in this match.
JPN - 122/7 (16)
Japan need 48 runs in 54 balls
Japan is going slow and steady to the target. Both openers gave a good start and now other batters are taking the momentum forward. Cambodia need wickets now. Japan need 48 runs in 54 balls to win this match.
JPN - 78/1 (11)
Japan starts the run chase
Japan have started the run chase. Wicket-keeper batter Alex Patmore and Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake are at the crease going easy and good. Cambodia needs quick wickets to remain in the match.
JPN - 47/0 (6)
Japan need 126 runs to win
Cambodia managed to score 125 runs in their 20 overs quota, thanks to Sharwan Godara's inning compiled with four sixes. Cambodia was once looking to pass 100-run score somehow, but Godara's power hitting has put Cambodia in a better place and now Cambodia has a respectable score to defend. Japan needs 126 runs to win this match.
CAM - 125/7 (20)
Cambodia struggling for runs
Cambodian batters could not get enough time to spend on the crease as Japan bowlers took five wickets early in the match with only opening batsman Lakshit Gupta standing on the pitch. Etienne Beukes is with Lakshit Gupta on the pitch and giving good support to his countryman. Lakshit is batting on 23*(30) and Etienne Beukes is on 15*(14). A good partnership is in the making here as Cambodia moves into the death overs.
CAM - 75/5 (14)
Cambodia lost their first wicket
Cambodian openers Ram Sharan and Lakshit Gupta are given the task to give Cambodia a solid start, but Ram Sharan is stumped by wicketkeeper Alex Patmore on Ibrahim Takahashi's ball and lost his wicket. He scored just 4 runs off 6 balls.
CAM - 7/1 (2)
Japan Playing XI:
Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake, Alex Patmore (wk), Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming (c), Ibrahim Takahashi, Wataru Miyauchi, Reo Sakurano-Thomas, Declan Mccomb, Tsuyoshi Takada, Makoto Taniyama, Kohei Kubota, Ryan Drake
Cambodia Playing XI:
Ram Sharan, Lakshit Gupta, Etienne Beukes, Prasad Anish, Gulam Chughtai, Luqman Butt(c), Phon Bunthean, Salvin Stanly, Sharwan Godara, Te Senglong, Uday Hathinjar(w)
Toss Update
Cambodia have won the toss and have opted to bat
Preview
Despite its rapid rise as a global sport, cricket is still struggling to get a firm foothold in the majority of Asian countries, including China. That said, the game has so far proven to be a real crowd-pleaser at the ongoing 2023 Asian Games. The women's competition was won by a star-studded Indian team, who defeated another powerhouse, Sri Lanka in the gold medal match.
It's T20 International, which is a 20-overs-a-side affair -- shortest of the three globally recognised formats. 14 nations are fighting for the men's Asiad cricket gold medal. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, thanks to their higher global standing [read: ICC ranking] will enter the competition proper, from the knock-outs.
In the group stage, there are nine teams -- The Maldives, Mongolia and Nepal (Group A); Cambodia, Hong Kong and Japan (Group B); Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand (Group C). The three group winners will progress to the knockouts.
Cricket became a part of the Asiad programme in 2010, in the Guangzhou Games, more than a decade after it last featured in a major multi-sport event at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. In Guangzhou, Bangladesh defeated Afghanistan to claim the gold medal, while Pakistan got the better of Sri Lanka in the bronze play-off. Four years later, Sri Lanka triumphed against Afghanistan in the Incheon gold medal match, while Bangladesh beat Hong Kong to take home bronze.
