Gifted an arm-chair ride by Asian Games organisers, India
took gold in the men’s cricket on Saturday as the rain-hit T20 final against
Afghanistan was decided by the superpower’s superior global ranking.
Afghanistan, ranked 10th in the ICC’s T20 rankings versus
world number one India, were left with silver and powerless to do anything
about it after rain halted the match when they were 112 for five after 18.2 overs
of the first innings. With India unable to bat a minimum five overs, play was
abandoned soon after 5 p.m. local time (0900 GMT), leaving Ruturaj Gaikwad’s
team to celebrate victory by default. Deciding results based purely on teams’
global rankings is almost unheard of in cricket, let alone for finals in major
tournaments. Most allow spare days so that deciders can be completed if rain
washes out play in the original match.
If no spare days are provided, a winner is generally declared
via tie-breaking criteria based on a team’s performances within the tournament
they are playing. The rankings rule also helped India’s gold medal winning women’s
team reach the semi-finals after rain washed out their quarter-final against
Malaysia. Rain also hit the bronze medal playoff won by Bangladesh against
Pakistan but held off long enough to at least ensure a contest between the
teams. It turned out to be a thriller as a last-ball four from Rakibul Hasan
secured the win, the Bangladeshis having chased down 65 runs in five overs in a
victory target adjusted by the Duckworth-Lewis method.
