India narrowly defeats Japan by two runs in historic T20I after tense finish

India narrowly avoided a major upset against Japan in the one-off T20I, securing a thrilling two-run victory after a tense finish. Japan pushed India all the way in a closely fought contest, but the Indian side held its nerve to seal the win.

Japanese spinners produced a stunning start against India’s explosive batting unit, reducing the reigning T20I world champions to 32/4 after five overs in the one-off T20I in Sano on Tuesday.

India’s star-studded batting line-up struggled to find its rhythm against Japan’s spin attack, with captain Shreyas Iyer the only batter to reach double figures, scoring 16 off 12 balls with one four. Abhishek Sharma was dismissed for a golden duck. Japan’s fielders also backed up their bowlers with energetic efforts on the field.

Charlie Hara-Hinze was Japan’s standout bowler, finishing with figures of 2/17, while Ibrahim Takahashi claimed one wicket for 1/13.

Sanju Samson, who opened the innings, found it difficult to counter Hara-Hinze’s slow left-arm orthodox spin and managed just one boundary from five deliveries. Japan then struck a major blow off the final ball of the opening over when Hara-Hinze dismissed Abhishek Sharma. The Indian opener attempted a sweep but only managed a top edge, leaving India at 7/1 after one over.

The dismissal marked Abhishek’s seventh golden duck in T20Is in 2026 and his 10th overall in T20 cricket this year. Both figures are the highest recorded by a batter in a calendar year.

Earlier, India won the toss and elected to bat first against Japan in the historic one-off T20I on Tuesday. Captain Shreyas Iyer said the game would also help India assess the playing conditions ahead of the Asian Games.

However, persistent rain interruptions before the start of play reduced the India vs Japan T20I to a five-over-per-side contest.

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 Singh

Japan (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.