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Japanese spinners delivered a stunning surprise to a fire-packed Indian batting line-up, restricting the reigning world T20I champions to 32/4 in five overs of the one-off T20I at Sano on Tuesday.
In the explosive Indian line-up, only skipper Shreyas Iyer (16 in 12 balls, with a four) managed to reach double digits, with Abhishek Sharma registering a golden duck. Team India struggled to connect their shots against Japan spinners. Spinners also got a lot of aid from the energy shown by fielders. Charlie Hara-Hinze (2/17) was the pick of the bowlers for Japan, while Ibrahim Takahashi (1/13) also managed a wicket. Opening the batting, Sanju Samson struggled to make an impact against slow left-arm orthodox spin of Charlie Hara-Hinze, scoring just one boundary in five balls. Japan got a massive breakthrough on the final ball, with Charlie removing Abhishek for a golden duck as he got a top edge while sweeping. India was 7/1 after the first over. This was Abhishek's seventh golden duck in T20Is this year and 10th overall in T20s, both most by a batter in a calendar year. Ibrahim Takahashi got the big wicket of Sanju (nine in seven balls, with a four), with Benjamin Ito-Davis taking the catch. Japan had India down 9/2 in 1.2 overs. At the end of two overs, India was at 12/2, with Ishan Kishan and skipper Shreyas Iyer unbeaten at one run each. India's struggles on a sluggish Sano surface continued as Ishan was removed for just three runs, with Ito-Davis taking a fine catch. India was 14/3 in 2.4 overs, struggling against spin. At the end of three overs, India was 14/3. 12 runs by the Indian top-three is the lowest aggregate by India's top-three in 16 T20Is against associate nations. India's struggles against spin continued as after four overs, they were 22/4, with none of the batters having touched the double digits. Iyer broke the boundary shackles, getting a four on the third ball of the final over. This was the first boundary since the fourth ball of the innings. Charlie got the second wicket of the match, removing Iyer for 12 off 16. India was 32/4 in 4.5 overs. India ended their innings at 32/4, with Shivam Dube (0*) and Tilak (1*) unbeaten. Earlier, India won the toss and opted to bat against Japan in a historic one-off T20I on Tuesday, with captain Shreyas Iyer saying the match would provide an opportunity to assess the conditions ahead of the Asian Games. The India vs Japan T20I has been cut short to a five-over contest due to frequent rain interruptions before the start of the match. Japan captain Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming said she would have preferred to bowl first but was happy with the outcome of the toss, while expressing excitement at playing against India. "We probably would have bowled. I was happy either way. It is pure excitement; it is starting to sink now, and hopefully we can put on a show," Kadowaki-Fleming said. The Japan captain Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming also acknowledged the support from Indian fans and described India's presence as a significant moment for Japanese cricket. Teams:India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Yash Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep SinghJapan (Playing XI): Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake, Reo Sakurano-Thomas, Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming(c), Benjamin Ito-Davis, Wataru Miyauchi, Alexander Shirai-Patmore(w), Charlie Hara-Hinze, Ibrahim Takahashi, Declan Suzuki-McComb, Makoto Taniyama, Shoma Sugaya-Slater. (ANI)
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