Ahead of the Asian Games, the only historic T20 match between Japan and India was played on September 22 at the Sano International Cricket Ground in Sano. In this rain-interrupted, thrilling encounter, India secured a victory by a narrow margin of 2 runs. Batting first, Ind set a target of 33 runs for Japan; in reply, Japan could only manage 30 runs.
Regarding the match, rain delayed the start—originally scheduled for 9:30 AM—until 12:40 PM, and the match was reduced to five overs per innings. The Indian team won the toss and elected to bat first, scoring 32 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in the allotted 5 overs.
Abhishek Sharma was dismissed for a golden duck on the very first ball, while Sanju Samson scored 9 runs. Ishan Kishan scored 3 runs, and Shreyas Iyer scored 16. For Japan, Charlie Hinze claimed 2 wickets, while Ibrahim Takahashi and Benjamin Ito-Davis took 1 wicket each.
Also read: India Beat Japan by 2 Runs in Thriller
Subsequently, when Japan set out to chase the target of 33 runs, they could only score a total of 30 runs for the loss of three wickets in their 5 overs. Captain Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming was the top scorer for Japan with 12 runs. For India, Washington Sundar claimed two wickets.
Japan;s playing XIs
Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake, Reo Sakurano-Thomas, Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming (Captain), Benjamin Ito-Davis, Wataru Miyauchi, Alexander Shirai-Patmore (Wicketkeeper), Charlie Hara-Hinz, Ibrahim Takahashi, Declan Suzuki-McComb, Makoto Taniyama, Shoma Sugaya-Slater
India’s playing XIs
Sanju Samson (Wicketkeeper), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Yash Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh
