Asian Games Men’s Cricket Timings Adjusted for India

Men’s cricket at the Asian Games will start a little earlier than planned, with organisers quietly moving key knockout matches forward by 30 minutes to beat the early evening darkness in Japan.

Afternoon fixtures for the men have been brought up to 1.30 pm local time from the originally announced 2 pm slot. The morning games stay as they are at 9 am. The women’s schedule remains untouched.

India’s quarter-final gets a new first ball

The Indian men’s team, handed direct entry into the quarter-finals of the Aichi-Nagoya Games 2026, will now open their campaign at 1.30 pm local time. With Japan 3 hours and 30 minutes ahead, that means a 10 am IST start for viewers back home.

That adjustment specifically affects:

• The second quarter-final on September 28, where India are slated to play
• The second semi-final on October 1, which India are expected to contest if they advance
• The gold-medal match on October 3

All three will now begin at 1.30 pm Japan Time.

The other side of the draw stays on the original morning slot. The first quarter-final, involving Pakistan, the first semi-final, and the bronze-medal play-off will all start at 9 am local time, or 5.30 am IST.

Women’s schedule untouched, prelims stay as is

While the men’s afternoon knockouts move earlier, the women’s competition carries on exactly as planned. The women’s event begins directly from the quarter-final stage, with all matches scheduled for 9 am and 2 pm local time.

There is no change either to the men’s preliminary-round fixtures featuring Afghanistan, Japan, Nepal, Hong Kong (China), Malaysia and Oman. Those games stick to the original 9 am and 2 pm pattern.

The shift is laser-focused on the men’s later-stage fixtures that risk running into fading light.

No lights, early dusk, and slow communication

The reason for the reshuffle is simple: daylight.

Sources indicate organisers pushed the afternoon knockouts forward because it gets dark early in Japan and the venue does not have floodlights. With men’s T20s expected to run longer, the risk of play stretching into poor light was too high. Starting earlier is seen as the safest way to ensure full matches without interruption.

Yet the message has not reached everyone. Officials from the Indian Olympic Association say they have not been formally informed of the change, even though the revised timings are already live on the official website. On paper, the schedule has moved. On the ground, not everyone has caught up.

Separate Japan T20I keeps its own slot

Away from the Asian Games schedule, India’s standalone T20I against Japan on September 22 at Sano International Stadium holds its own timing. That match, not part of the Games programme, will begin at 1 pm JST, which is 9.30 am IST.

So India’s cricketers will get an early taste of Japanese conditions and an early start. Then, when the medals are on the line, they will walk out half an hour sooner than first planned, racing not just their opponents, but the setting sun.