Two-time gold medalists Pakistan survived a mighty scare from Thailand in a rain-reduced game and scampered their way to the Asian Games Women’s  cricket semi-finals with a tense three-wicket win. Pakistan were set a stiff target of 92 in 11 overs and they clinched the topsy-turvy game with a few clusters of boundaries towards the end even as wickets fell at regular intervals that kept Thailand’s hopes alive until the last over.

Pakistan will now face Bangladesh in the semi-final on September 20.

Bangladesh have gained a direct entry into the semi-finals of the Women’s Asian Games 2026 after their quarter-final against China was washed out on Thursday. The match was abandoned without a ball bowled and Bangladesh advanced by virtue of their higher seeding.

The game was the opening clash and the first quarter-final of the Asian Games that kicked off on Thursday. Bangladesh will now take on the winner of India vs Japan (the fourth quarter-final), on September 20.

The match was initially delayed by a wet outfield and eventually called off without the toss also taking place.

The women’s games of the tournament have started with the quarter finals,  with two games scheduled on Thursday and two on Friday. After Pakistan vs Thailand later on Thursday, Friday will see Malaysia vs Sri Lanka before India take on Japan. Both semi-finals are scheduled for September 20 and the final for September 22.

All games will be played at the Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan, in the outskirts of Nagoya.

The men’s tournament will start on September 24.

[Cricinfo]

As he nears the end of a hectic summer, Harry Brook was offered the chance to rest rather than play this series and how Sri Lanka must wish Pakistan’s red ball side had extended him enough to force a layoff. As it turned out, the 27-year-old could hardly have looked fresher as he inspired his side to an overwhelming win over emphatically outclassed opponents, a brilliant century powering England to a 19th victory in 22 completed games since he took over the captaincy, secured by the margin of 119 runs.

Brook cavorted to triple figures off 42 balls, of which precisely a third were dispatched to the boundary, six of them beyond it, and ended unbeaten on 114 as England posted 254. But as much as his power his running impressed, using the size of the ground and manipulation of angles to maximum advantage, aided occasionally by the tourists’ imperfection in the field, as he scurried a succession of twos.

These teams have already met nine times this year, with potentially six more encounters to come between now and November. Having been left punch-drunk here, if Sri Lanka fail to recover their senses and create a plan to counter Brook in particular they are in for a miserable few weeks.

This was the 27-year-old’s second international T20 century, the other coming in Sri Lanka, against Pakistan during the World Cup earlier this year, the first time that he batted for his country at No 3. He has now done so eight times , scoring in addition to those two tons two unbeaten half-centuries and compiling an average of 95.2 at a ludicrous strike rate of 200.84.

Aneurin Donald, at 29 England’s oldest debutant since Dawid Malan in 2017, started strongly, hitting Maheesh Theekshana for a six and a four off the final two balls of the first over, but the next one he faced, the opening delivery of the third over and Dunith Wellalage’s first of the night, was skewed into the air, straight down the ground and easily caught.

Encouraged by an over that brought a wicket and just five runs, Wellalage – who would return to top score for Sri Lanka from No 8 – stayed on for a second, off which Brook flayed three sixes and as many fours, and from there England never let up.

England, put in to bat, had the best of the conditions but Sri Lanka’s innings featured nearly three times as many dot balls as theirs, and just over half as many boundaries. After six overs England had 90 for the loss of one wicket; the tourists at the same stage had 32 and had lost three, their task already far beyond forlorn.

It did not help that Sonny Baker, expensive against Ireland on T20 debut almost exactly a year ago, looked a player transformed on his second appearance, his four overs bringing three wickets and just 12 runs.

There were a few brief moments of fun as Dasun Shanaka hit Adil Rashid for successive sixes, struck with enormous power either side of long-off, but the next ball found his edge and Buttler’s gloves, and Wellalage’s cameo was the only succour for the tourists thereafter. They were eventually bowled out for 135, with an over unbowled.

England seem to have taken a liking to the Rose Bowl, and in their last three appearances here have thrashed South Africa by 342 runs in a record-breaking one-day international, comfortably beaten India in a T20, and now this.