Men’s Asian Games 2026: Quarterfinal 3, SL vs NEP Match Prediction, Betting Tips

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Match Details

Sri Lanka and Nepal meet in Quarter-final 3 of the Men’s Asian Games 2026, with the match taking place at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin on Tuesday, 29th September.

Sri Lanka have come to this tournament without their best players, who are otherwise engaged in white-ball cricket against England. Sahan Arachchige leads a side that blends experienced names like Chamika Karunaratne and Niroshan Dickwella with a number of promising youngsters. It is a squad that has plenty to prove but lacks the firepower of a full-strength Lanka outfit.

Nepal, by contrast, are here at full strength and they have already shown what they are capable of in the group stage. They topped Group A convincingly, beating Afghanistan by five wickets and picking up an additional point from a washout against Japan. They know the conditions here and that experience could prove decisive in a knockout game.

What the Pitch Offers

The Korogi Sports Park surface has had a tough time of it with persistent rain battering Nisshin over recent days. If play gets underway at all, conditions are likely to assist the bowling side early on, and whichever captain wins the toss will almost certainly be looking to field first. That decision becomes even more sensible given the ongoing threat of rain interruptions, where chasing a reduced target is a far safer position to be in than defending one.

How These Sides Have Fared Before

This quarter-final will be the very first time Sri Lanka and Nepal have faced each other in T20I cricket, so there is no head-to-head history to draw on here. Both sides will be heading into unfamiliar territory against one another, which adds another layer of intrigue to what is already a fascinating knockout tie.

Predicted Playing XIs

Sri Lanka: Niroshan Dickwella (WK), Lasith Croospulle, Nuwanidu Fernando, Ashen Bandara, Sahan Arachchige (C), Sineth Jayawardena, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushan Hemantha, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Nuwan Thushara, Binura Fernando.

Nepal: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (WK), Sundeep Jora, Kushal Malla, Gulshan Jha, Lokesh Bam, Rohit Paudel, Dipendra Singh Airee (C), Sompal Kami, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi.

Players Who Could Decide This

Niroshan Dickwella is the standout name in the Sri Lanka lineup and the man their hopes will largely rest on. If he opens the batting and finds his rhythm in the powerplay, he has the shot-making ability to put the opposition under serious pressure early. When Dickwella gets a start, he tends to make it count, and Sri Lanka will need exactly that kind of platform given the relative inexperience around him.

Lalit Rajbanshi was outstanding for Nepal in the group stage, claiming three wickets across two matches at an economy rate of just 3.25. The left-arm orthodox spinner poses a real challenge on surfaces that offer even a hint of assistance, and if he can tie down the Sri Lanka top order, Nepal’s bowlers as a collective will have the pressure to work with. He is the kind of bowler who can quietly strangle a chase or suffocate a first innings total without anyone quite noticing until the damage is done.

Match Prediction

Nepal are the form side here, full strength, tournament-hardened and familiar with these conditions after their group stage games. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, are working with a second-string squad who will need to gel quickly under knockout pressure. The pitch is likely to be tricky, Sandeep Lamichhane adds genuine world-class quality to Nepal’s attack, and the edge in preparation and squad depth sits firmly with the Himalayan side.

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