Hosts South Korea are through to the quarter-finals of the Asian Games men's cricket tournament, with Kuwait also through after a coin toss.

Kuwait were scheduled to play the Maldives in the first match of the day, but heavy rain prevented the match from starting. Tournament playing conditions prevent a tie, even in the group stages, so a winner had to be decided somehow. The rain let up, leading to hopes that a super over could be played, although even this turned out to not be possible.

So the next option on the list had to be used. Not a bowl out at an indoor facility, but the toss of a coin. The coin was flipped and Kuwait won, sending them through to the quarter-finals, where they will face Bangladesh on Wednesday. They can certainly count themselves lucky - had the game been abandoned as is the usual standard for washed out fixtures, the Maldvies would have gone through on net run rate.

Whilst one can certainly see the need for using a coin toss in the knock-out stages - though even then it's far from ideal - using it in the group stages is bizarre to say the least. The Maldives will quite rightly feel rather aggrieved by this outcome.

The second match of the day did see play though, with hosts South Korea facing China for a quarter-final place. The match was reduced to 10 overs, with China choosing to field first after winning the toss.

The hosts set about scoring quickly, with 21 on the board when Ilhwan Seo was the first man out at the end of the third over. Sunghoon Cho and Daesik Sung then put on 50 in the next five overs, with Sung playing some superb straight shots, some of which showed his baseball background.

Cho scored his runs with some quick running between the wickets, and reached 23 from 28 balls, without a boundary, before he was dismissed by Zhong Wenyi from the final ball of the eighth over. Twelve runs were taken from the ninth over, with Daesik Sung taking his personal tally to 33 from 15 balls.

Zhong Wenyi then had Sung stumped from the first ball of the final over, completing his hat-trick when he had Hyobum An out the same way from the next ball. He then made it four from four balls when he caught Sangwook Lee off his own bowling. South Korea's final score was 88-5.

China's run chase progressed slowly initially, unable to keep wickets in hand in the early overs, as South Korea managed to do. With 41 needed from the final three, China gave the Koreans a scare when Li Jian hit two fours to open the eighth over. He ran three from the third ball and his partner Lei Sun got two from the next thanks to a wayward throw.

Lei Sun was run out trying to pinch a quick single from the next ball, before a dropped catch allowed Zhong Wenyi to run two from the final ball of the over. Fifteen runs from the over then, and China now needed 26 from two. They only managed eight from the next though, and the game swung back the way of the hosts.

The swing was completed when three wickets were taken from the first three balls of the final over, two of them being run outs. With 15 needed from the last ball, Taekwan Park managed to bowl a wide that went to the boundary. Three runs from the last got China a narrow six run defeat, although the result was more comprehensive than that margin suggests.

The prize for South Korea is a challenging quarter final against Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankans are far from full strength, but will still be a tough opponent for a South Korean side that recorded only their second ever win in international cricket today.

Results

Kuwait beat Maldives on a coin toss
Yeonhui Cricket Ground, Incheon, 29 September

South Korea beat China by 6 runs
Yeonhui Cricket Ground, Incheon, 29 September
South Korea 88-5 (10 overs, Zhong Wenyi 4-9 (inc. 4 in 4 balls))
China 82-7 (10 overs)