In a game that started 3 hours late due to rain and a wet outfield, India won the toss and elected to bat first and huffed and puffed their way to a below-par 32/4 in 5 overs on a tricky surface. Captain Shreyas Iyer scored 16 off 12 balls while the rest of the batters struggled. Charlie Hinze picked up 2 wickets as Japan, like India, used only three bowlers.
In reply, Japan rode on captain Fleming’s knock of 12 off 12 balls to almost get to the score while the others tried hard. Washington Sundar picked up 2 wickets while Axar Patel kept things really tight as he held his nerve in the final over to win the game by a mere 2 runs. This is a big wake-up call for India ahead of their Asian Games campaign on a day when the Women’s Team won the gold medal in Cricket.
Charlie Hinze’s 2-wicket haul restricts India to a mere 32/4 in 5 overs
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first on a 5-over contest, keeper-batter Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma came out to bat for India while Charlie Hinze had the ball in hand for Japan. The duo added 7 runs in the opening over before Abhishek came on strike and fell off the first ball of his innings for a golden duck to Charlie Hinze. Ishan Kishan came out to bat next. It was a struggle for him out there. Just 2 runs were added to the tally before Samson fell for 9 off 7 balls with one four to his name to Ibrahim Takahashi. Tilak Varma came out to bat next.
India were struggling at 14/3 in 2.4 overs in this 5-over contest. Thereafter, captain Shreyas Iyer applied himself under pressure and led India’s fightback while Tilak was there with him at the other end, hardly getting strike. The duo added 18 runs for the 4th wicket before the captain fell off the penultimate ball of the innings for 16 off 12 balls with one four to his name to Hinze. With one ball to go in the innings, Shivam Dube came out to bat and swung and missed to the keeper.
Tilak remained unbeaten on 1 off 3 balls alongside Dube’s unbeaten 0 off 1 ball as India finished with 32/4 in 5 overs. Just 3 extras were given by the Japanese team in the form of wides. Just three bowlers were used by Japan. Charlie Hinze was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/17 in 2 overs. Benjamin Ito-Davis bowled an over and finished with 1/2 in 1 over. Ibrahim Takahashi finished with 1/13 in 2 overs. This meant that the target for Japan was 33 runs to win off 30 balls for a historic win.
Washington Sundar’s 2-wicket haul & Axar Patel’s composure under pressure helped India win by a mere 2 runs
Chasing 33 for an amazing win, captain Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming and Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake came out to open the batting for Japan while Axar Patel had the ball in hand for India. Axar bowled a miserly first over, giving away 2 runs, and that was the length of the opening stand before Lachlan was the first one to depart for 1 off 4 balls thanks to a direct hit from the deep by Ishan Kishan. Ibrahim Takahashi came out to bat next.
The duo of Fleming and Ibrahim added 5 runs to the tally before Ibrahim fell for 4 off 3 balls with one four to his name to Washington Sundar. Benjamin Ito-Davis came out to bat next. Fleming and Benjamin took the fight to India as they smashed Ravi Bishnoi for 10 runs in his only over that he bowled. Things became tense as Japan fought and took the game to India.
The duo added 18 runs for the 3rd wicket before Fleming fell for 12 off 12 balls with one four to his name to Sundar yet again. India needed that wicket as Japan now needed 8 off the last 6 balls. Alexander Shirai-Patmore came out to bat next in the final over of the innings. Axar Patel bowled the last over of the match, and there were doubles there, a few wides, and wide balls being changed as it was drama in the last over.
In the end, the duo added 5 runs off the last 6 balls and, with 4 needed off the last ball, they managed only a single as India held their nerves to win the match by a mere 2 runs. Benjamin remained unbeaten on 9 off 8 balls alongside Patmore, who was unbeaten on 2 off 3 balls. Japan finished with 30/3 in 5 overs with 2 extras given by the fielding side.
Much like Japan, India used three bowlers, and all of them were spinners. Washington Sundar was amongst the wickets as he finished with 2/13 in 2 overs. Axar Patel bowled 2 overs for 7 runs and kept things calm. Ravi Bishnoi bowled an over for 10 runs. So, India won this one-off T20I by 2 runs to survive a massive scare. Captain Shreyas Iyer was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead
After this one-off game, India will head into the Asian Games 2026 where they will be in action in the Quarterfinals clash on 28th September, 2026. While Japan will play in the Group Stage of the tournament on 24th September against Afghanistan and Nepal. So, a lot of action coming our way for both teams going ahead.
Also Read:Â JPN vs IND: Japan All Set For Historic One Off T20I Against India