India survived by the skin of their teeth in the one-off T20I against Japan on Tuesday, winning the contest by two runs in a nail-biting thriller at the Sano International Cricket Ground in Sano. The five-overs shootout went down to the final ball, when Japan had a full chance of pulling off a historic upset in their first-ever T20I against a full-member nation. But Axar Patel turned saviour, holding his nerve to seal a narrow win. The performance, however, could not mask the cracks as India's batting once again highlighted India's struggles against spin. The match witnessed its fair share of drama, as the final over saw the on-field umpires reverse a wide call under substantial pressure from both Shreyas Iyer and Axar.
The match got underway after a lengthy delay due to the wet outfield. Despite bright sunshine at 9:30 AM IST, an overnight downpour had left the ground unfit for play. After a three-hour wait, play finally began, with the match reduced to five overs per side.
Shreyas was adjudged as Player of the Match for his knock of 16, the highest by any batter in the fixture. This innings was the main reason India reached 32, which eventually proved to be the match-winning score. The skipper made it clear after the win that the pitch conditions weren't suitable for batting, and he added that the curtailed overs made the match more competitive.
“The wicket was turning square, was a very difficult wicket to bat on. We saw the openers as well, not being able to gauge the pace of the spin. I decided it's easy to take singles and doubles, and interact with the batsman who came in with me. Decided I'll be playing on the merit of the ball,” said Shreyas.
“See, I always keep saying five-over game, it can go anywhere,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“See, I always keep saying five-over game, it can go anywhere,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Winning the toss was the only positive for India in the first innings, as the batters struggled to get going. Japan were quick to recognise the conditions, with all five overs bowled by spinners. Charlie Hara-Hinze, Ibrahim Takahashi and Benjamin Ito-Davis made full use of the slow turn on offer, bowling in good areas and leaving the Indian batters short for answers. Abhishek Sharma was the first to walk back, departing for a golden duck. It was his seventh score of zero in T20Is in 2026 and his fifth first-ball dismissal.
Sanju Samson (9), Ishan Kishan (3) and Shreyas Iyer (16) looked all at sea, and India’s problems were compounded by the fact that there were just two boundaries in the entire innings. Samson hit the first in the opening over, while Shreyas struck the second and final boundary in the last over. Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube remained unbeaten on 1 off 3 balls and 0 off 1 ball, respectively, as India finished on 32/4, a well below par score on a tricky pitch. Charlie Hara Hinze was the pick of the Japan spinners, returning figures of 2/17.
Japan's chase
Japan struggled equally. Ishan Kishan produced some brilliance in the field, with his direct hit from the deep catching Japanese opener Lachlan Yamamoto Lake short of his crease. He was sent back in the opening over. Washington Sundar then struck twice. However, Ravi Bishnoi gave away 10 runs in his only over, leaving Japan needing eight from the last six deliveries, with Axar Patel tasked with bowling the final over.
There was plenty of drama, with a wide call overturned by the on-field officials, though there was no official confirmation of the reason for the reversal. In the end, Japan needed four from the final delivery but could manage only a single.
After the win, Shreyas spoke about the occasion of playing against Japan and how he felt about playing the historic T20I. “First, congratulations to Japan and India for 75 years of diplomatic relationship. It's something that we keep talking about every now and then when we arrive. And talking about today's occasion, it was a long travel for us,” said the Indian captain.
Shreyas also added that the team always wanted to play against Japan despite spending three hours in the bus to reach the venue.
“It took us three hours to reach here, but at the back of our mind, we had only one thing, that we wanted to play the game, excite the crowd who had come to see the game and the supporters who had been trying to see to it that this match was organised. So congratulations to everyone who has been present over here to deliver this particular game, and it's come out so fantastically. Even though it was five overs, I feel that at least we got to see and experience such a great performance from the Japanese team and the Indian players. So yeah, overall, I feel it was an exciting game, and yeah, honestly, they were also brilliant with their performances,” he added.