Saudi Trends | Rain cancels Sri Lanka-Nepal match, deciding Asian Games qualification without a ball being bowled

Searches for the Sri Lanka-Nepal match surged onto Saudi Arabia’s trending topics list, with more than 10,000 searches recorded within hours according to Google Trends, before the story ended in an unusual way: the Asian Games cricket quarter-final was called off without a single ball being bowled because of rain.

Rain decides the qualification spot

Sri Lanka had been scheduled to face Nepal in the men’s quarter-final, but persistent rain and the poor condition of the pitch at Korogi Sports Park near Nagoya prevented the match from starting. Reuters reported that the cancellation awarded Sri Lanka a place in the semi-finals as the higher-ranked team.

This was not the only match affected; weather conditions disrupted more than one fixture, while organizers worked to dry the playing surface in the hope of completing the subsequent rounds.

Why did the match become a trend?

Google Trends data in Saudi Arabia showed that the phrase “Sri Lanka vs Nepal” exceeded 10,000 searches and remained active during the past few hours. The interest was linked to anticipation of the outcome of a knockout match, then grew after the cancellation and qualification without play were announced—a conclusion that drew the attention of fans of the tournament and Asian cricket.

Sri Lanka through to the semi-finals

According to Reuters, Sri Lanka is set to face India in the semi-finals, while Bangladesh also advanced after its match against Malaysia was called off for the same reason. Organizers are awaiting improved weather conditions before the upcoming fixtures.

Sources: Google Trends – Saudi Arabia (past 24 hours), Reuters, ESPNcricinfo.

The featured image is illustrative of a cricket ground threatened by rain and is not from the match itself. Photo by Khurshid Dustmurodov / Unsplash.