For only the second time in India’s cricketing history, the men’s senior sides will play two international matches on the same day. Irrespective of the result in the semi-final of the Asian Games, India's T20I team will play a medal match on October 3, on the same day the ODI side will play the third match of their ongoing series against the West Indies.
The last such instance was way back on September 12, 1998, when India played the Commonwealth Games fixture against Canada in Kuala Lumpur and the Sahara Friendship Cup in Toronto against Pakistan simultaneously. They registered victory in both the matches.
Both the bronze and the gold medal matches of the Asian Games are scheduled to be played on the same day in Nisshin, after which the Shubman Gill-led ODI side will line up against the West Indies in Mullanpur.
Also read: The 1998 Commonwealth Games: India-Pakistan politics and a Northern Irish upset in the Malaysia heat
In the Asian Games, India’s quarter-final on Monday was abandoned without a ball being bowled, and the Shreyas Iyer-led side progressed to the semi-final being the higher-ranked team. They will now take on Sri Lanka in the semi-final, while Pakistan will play Bangladesh in the other semi-final. Notably, all four quarter-final matches were washed out.
As for the 50-over side under Gill, the first ODI against the West Indies was a cakewalk. After restricting the visitors to a par 295-7 on the back of a four-wicket haul by Kuldeep Yadav, hundreds from Gill and Virat Kohli carried India to the winning mark with eight wickets to spare, going 1-0 up in the series.
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