Pakistan and India advanced to the Asian Games men’s cricket semi-finals on Monday after rain forced the abandonment of their quarter-finals without a ball being bowled.

Pakistan’s match against Hong Kong was called off at the scheduled toss after incessant showers left large parts of the Nisshin ground under covers.

Pakistan, one of four seeded teams alongside India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, progressed on the basis of their higher ICC ranking and will face the winners of Tuesday’s quarter-final between Bangladesh and Malaysia on Thursday.

Hong Kong reached the last eight after finishing second in Group B, beating Malaysia by eight wickets before losing to Oman by 41 runs.

The abandoned match would have been the third T20 meeting between Pakistan and Hong Kong, with Pakistan winning the previous two at the 2022 Asia Cup and 2023 Asian Games.

India also advanced after their quarter-final against Afghanistan was washed out before the toss.

India’s higher seeding secured their place in the last four, while Afghanistan exited the tournament after another rain-affected encounter with India at the Asian Games.

India will meet the winners of Tuesday’s quarter-final between Nepal and Sri Lanka in Thursday’s second semi-final.

Sri Lanka, another seeded team, will advance if their match against Nepal is also abandoned. They are among the four teams, with India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, that entered the quarter-finals directly.

Afghanistan won silver at the 2023 Hangzhou Games after their final against higher-seeded India was abandoned following 18.2 overs of the first innings.