India survived a huge scare against Japan as their star-studded batting line-up struggled on a slow, turning pitch before the visitors held their nerve to win the rain-hit five-over-a-side T20I by two runs on Tuesday.
The match was reduced to five overs per side because of bad weather. The rain left moisture underneath the surface, and the Japanese spinners made full use of the conditions to trouble India’s batters.
India were restricted to 32 for four, with their batters finding it difficult to play their usual attacking game on a pitch that offered plenty of turn.
Japanese Spinners Trouble India
Left-arm spinner Charlie Hara Hinze was the pick of the Japanese bowlers, finishing with two wickets for 17 runs. Off-spinner Ibrahim Takahashi also picked up one wicket for 13 runs.
Abhishek Sharma was the first Indian batter to fall. The aggressive opener was dismissed for a first-ball duck after mis-timing a slog sweep against Hara-Hinze.
Takahashi then deceived Sanju Samson with a flighted delivery. Samson, who scored 10, went for a big heave but only managed to find the fielder at the mid-wicket boundary.
Ishan Kishan also struggled to find his timing. He repeatedly tried to hit against the turn and eventually ballooned a catch towards mid-off off Benjamin Ito-Davis, who finished with one wicket for two runs.
Shreyas Iyer top-scored for India with 16 and managed to hit a boundary, but even he found it difficult to attack across the line on the slow surface.
The combination of turn, moisture and the slow nature of the pitch made batting extremely difficult. With only five overs available, India had very little time to recover after losing early wickets.
Credit also goes to Japan’s three spinners and captain Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming, who read the conditions well. The home side were familiar with the venue, where they play their home matches, and made that knowledge count.
Japan Fall Short By Two Runs
Japan needed to chase down India’s modest total, but India kept the pressure on throughout the innings.
Captain Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming top-scored with 12 runs from 12 balls. Benjamin Ito-Davis remained unbeaten on nine from eight balls, while Ibrahim Takahashi added four from three.
Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake was run out for one, while Alexander Shirai-Patmore was unbeaten on one.
Japan needed four runs from the final ball to win the match, but India managed to prevent them from getting the required runs and secured a thrilling two-run victory.
Washington Sundar Leads India’s Bowling
Washington Sundar was India’s most successful bowler, taking two wickets for 13 runs from his two overs.
Axar Patel bowled two overs and conceded six runs without taking a wicket, while Ravi Bishnoi gave away 10 runs in his only over.
India’s bowlers ultimately did enough to defend the low total and avoid what would have been a major upset, securing a narrow two-run win in a match heavily affected by rain and difficult batting conditions.
Brief scores
India 32/4 in 5 overs (Shreyas Iyer 16; Charlie Hara-Hinze 2/17) beat Japan 30/3 in 5 overs (Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming 12; Washington Sundar 2/13) by 2 runs.