Sri Lanka Beat Bangladesh by 63 Runs to Win Asian Games Cricket Bronze

By Kimi · October 3, 2026 · 4 min read

Key takeaways

🔑 Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 63 runs in the men’s T20 bronze-medal play-off at the 2026 Asian Games on Saturday, October 3, 2026, in Nisshin, Japan. Sri Lanka made 165/9 and Bangladesh were bowled out for 102 in 17.3 overs, so Sri Lanka took bronze and Bangladesh finished fourth.
Tharindu Ratnayake was Sri Lanka’s standout: he struck 65 off 32 balls (seven fours, five sixes) after Sri Lanka slid to 21/4 inside four overs, added a 93-run sixth-wicket stand with captain Sahan Arachchige, who made 33, and then took 2 wickets for 18 runs with the ball.
Bangladesh’s chase of 166 fell apart early. Openers Saif Hassan and Tanzid Hasan and captain Litton Das all made 0, leaving them 18/4 after 3.5 overs. Nasum Ahmed’s 26 off 28 balls was the top score in a total of 102 all out.
This was a one-off third-place play-off, not a bilateral series. Both teams had lost their October 1 semi-finals, Bangladesh to Pakistan by six wickets in a rain-shortened game and Sri Lanka to India by 124 runs. First ball was 9 a.m. local time, 8 p.m. Eastern on Friday, October 2.
Bangladeshi outlets reported that the defeat left the country’s cricketers without an Asian Games medal for the first time, and published results show Bangladesh’s women also finished fourth. Sri Lanka’s side was described by several outlets as second-string. This recap uses final scores only, with no odds, spreads or win probabilities.

Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 63 runs in the men’s T20 third-place play-off at the 2026 Asian Games on Saturday, October 3, 2026, taking the bronze medal behind Tharindu Ratnayake’s 65 off 32 balls and two wickets. Sri Lanka made 165/9 in their 20 overs, and Bangladesh were bowled out for 102 in 17.3 overs. Bangladesh finished fourth. The match was played at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

What was the final score of Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka?

Sri Lanka won by 63 runs, posting 165/9 and then bowling Bangladesh out for 102 in 17.3 overs. Bangladesh needed 166 to win. Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat, according to the match scorecard.

Team	Score	Overs
Sri Lanka	165/9	20
Bangladesh	102 all out	17.3

Was this part of a Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka series?

No, it was a one-off medal match at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, not a bilateral series. The two sides had each lost a semi-final and met to decide third place. Asian Games cricket is played in the T20 format, 20 overs a side, the same short format scheduled for the cricket events at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. The match had a 9 a.m. local start on October 3, which is 8 p.m. Eastern on Friday, October 2.

How did Sri Lanka get to 165?

Ratnayake rescued Sri Lanka from 21/4 after 3.5 overs with 65 off 32 balls, including seven fours and five sixes. Sri Lanka’s first four batters made 2, 3, 6 and 1. Mahedi Hasan took two of those early wickets, Alis Al Islam (reported to be making his international debut) took one, and a run out accounted for the fourth. Ratnayake then added 93 for the sixth wicket with captain Sahan Arachchige, who made 33. Bangladesh’s bowlers also conceded 22 extras, 17 of them wides. Mustafizur Rahman took 2 for 43 from three overs and Rishad Hossain 1 for 46 from four, while Mahedi Hasan finished with 2 for 19.

Why did Bangladesh collapse in the chase?

Bangladesh were 4/18 after 3.5 overs, with openers Saif Hassan and Tanzid Hasan and captain Litton Das all out for 0. Nuwan Thushara removed Saif Hassan and Das and finished with 2 for 18, including a maiden, from his four overs. Ratnayake dismissed Tanzid Hasan on his way to 2 for 18 from three overs.

Nasum Ahmed top-scored with 26 off 28 balls, ahead of Yasir Ali (21 off 16) and Parvez Hossain Emon (20 off 26). Towhid Hridoy (11 off 6) and Rishad Hossain (10 off 5) were the only other batters in double figures. Wanuja Sahan took 2 for 17 and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 2 for 26, so Thushara, Ratnayake, Sahan and Viyaskanth each finished with two wickets.

How did Bangladesh and Sri Lanka reach the bronze-medal match?

Both lost their semi-finals on Thursday, October 1, 2026: Bangladesh to Pakistan and Sri Lanka to India. Bangladesh made 111/7 in a rain-shortened game of 13 overs a side, and Pakistan chased it down for 112/4 in 11.3 overs to win by six wickets, according to match reports. Sri Lanka were all out for 45 in 9.5 overs against India’s 169/7, a 124-run defeat. A pre-match preview called that their lowest T20I total.

Several outlets described Sri Lanka’s squad as second-string, a label we attribute to them and do not expand on. Later on October 3 at the same ground, India beat Pakistan by 19 runs in the gold-medal match, according to match reports and the tournament’s published results.

What does the result mean for Bangladesh?

Bangladeshi news outlets reported that the defeat sent Bangladesh’s cricketers home from an Asian Games without a medal for the first time. Published results are consistent with that: they list a Bangladesh team on the cricket podium at the 2010, 2014 and 2022 Games, with the men winning gold in 2010. The Bangladesh women also finished fourth in 2026, losing their bronze-medal match to Pakistan by 31 runs, according to the tournament results.

Was there any controversy in the match?

Several outlets reported a disputed dismissal: Sri Lanka’s Nuwanidu Fernando was given out caught behind for 1, and the reports said DRS was not available at the venue. Those reports described Fernando as visibly unhappy with the decision. We are only noting the coverage, not judging the call.

What other cricket is on in October 2026?

West Indies are touring India for three ODIs and five T20Is between September 27 and October 17, 2026. Our India vs West Indies 2026 schedule and how-to-watch guide has the full fixture list and how to watch from the US.

How we verified this

Result and totals. The 63-run margin, Sri Lanka’s 165/9 (20 overs) and Bangladesh’s 102 all out (17.3 overs) were checked against at least five independent sources: a full scorecard from the tournament’s data provider, two Bangladeshi daily-newspaper match reports, a third Bangladeshi outlet’s match report, the published tournament results page, and further international match reports. All agree. The match was final at write time. Scorecard figures. Batting and bowling lines come from the full scorecard and were reconciled by hand: each innings’ batters plus extras equal the team total (Sri Lanka 143 + 22 extras = 165; Bangladesh 95 + 7 extras = 102), bowlers’ overs add up to 20 and 17.3, and wickets add up to nine (including one run out) and ten. The 22 Sri Lankan extras (17 wides, 2 no-balls, 2 byes, 1 leg-bye) come from that scorecard only. Player-name spellings follow the scorecard (Cricinfo/ESPN style); some outlets spell Mahedi/Mehedi Hasan, Saif Hassan/Hasan and Ratnayake/Rathnayake differently. Conflicts between sources. (1) One Bangladeshi report names Sahan Arachchige and an unnamed bowler as two-wicket takers; the scorecard and another report show Nuwan Thushara, Tharindu Ratnayake, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth and Wanuja Sahan with two each (Arachchige and Hemantha one each, which also makes the bowling figures add up), so we followed the scorecard. (2) One report gives the Ratnayake-Arachchige partnership as 40; the scorecard’s fall of wickets (54 to 147) and a second match report both give 93 for the sixth wicket, so we used 93. (3) One report has Bangladesh 9/3 after 2.3 overs; the scorecard and another report show 4/18 after 3.5 overs, which is the only early-collapse figure we use. (4) A headline on one low-quality site has the result the wrong way round and was discarded. Start time, toss and time zones. The 09:00 local start and Sri Lanka choosing to bat appear on both the scorecard and the tournament results page, and every report has Sri Lanka batting first. The 8 p.m. Eastern (Friday, October 2) conversion is ours: 09:00 Japan time is 00:00 UTC, which is 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Context claims. Semi-final scores (Pakistan beat Bangladesh by six wickets in a 13-overs-a-side match, 111/7 against 112/4 in 11.3 overs; India 169/7 beat Sri Lanka, all out 45 in 9.5 overs, by 124 runs) were checked against the tournament results page and multiple match reports. The “lowest T20I total” description of Sri Lanka’s 45 comes from a pre-match preview and is attributed as such. “Second-string” is the label used by several outlets; we do not give or speculate on reasons for the squad selection. Medal claim. The “first time without a cricket medal” claim comes from three Bangladeshi outlets and is attributed to them. It is consistent with the published Asian Games cricket results, which list a Bangladesh team on the podium in 2010, 2014 and 2022. The women’s fourth-place finish (bronze match lost to Pakistan by 31 runs) comes from the tournament results pages. Gold-medal line. The single sentence on the India v Pakistan gold-medal match (India won by 19 runs) was added only after the match was final and confirmed by the tournament results page plus several independent match reports. No medal table is given. Items not stated. No player-of-the-match award was named in any report we could read, so none is given. The disputed Nuwanidu Fernando dismissal and the absence of DRS are reported from media coverage only; we do not name the on-field umpire or judge the decision. Betting and predictions. No betting odds, spreads, or win-probability models appear anywhere on this page.