India controversially defend 32 against minnows Japan in bizarre one-off T20

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/cricket/india-fcOzl2uI/japan-ULnTVF9B/?mid=AibGWKvf"]The historic match[/a] celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations took place at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/japan/ULnTVF9B/"]Japan[/a]'s modest Sano International Cricket Ground outside Tokyo. It was Japan's first T20 game against a full-member nation.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/india/fcOzl2uI/"]India[/a], who retained their T20 World Cup crown at home earlier this year, opted to bat first after rain and a wet outfield delayed the start and forced a five-overs-a-side shootout.[/p][p]India, captained by Shreyas Iyer, struggled to score on a sluggish pitch as they made 32-4.[/p][p]Japan - ranked 41st by the International Cricket Council (ICC) - pushed their more illustrious opponents all the way as they threatened a massive shock.[/p][p]They were in the game until the last ball but finished on 30-3, falling agonisingly just short.[/p][h2]Wide controversy dominates finale[/h2][p]The last over was not without controversy as the India players petitioned the umpires to overturn a wide call in their favour, before winning by just two runs.[/p][embed guid="032ef8e6-0006-4e3d-a6f8-061d31757a34" url="https://x.com/ben_wisden/status/2102310287235858580?s=46" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"Yeah, extremely proud, as I think I've been saying to a few other guys, that when it gets that close, it's actually a little bit tougher to take, and the emotions are running pretty high in our group," [/b]Japan skipper Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming said.[/p][p][b]"But the fact that we were able to run the best team in the world, in my opinion, to the last ball of a game is pretty special."[/b][/p][p]Japan's 17-year-old spinner Charlie Hara-Hinze stood out with figures of 2-17 in his two overs after he opened the attack and sent back opener Abhishek Sharma for a golden duck.[/p][p]Kadowaki-Fleming attempted to pull off the chase in his run-a-ball 12, but India's experienced spinners saved the heavyweights from embarrassment.[/p][p][b]"It doesn't matter how good a team you are, because the opposition is also competitive, and the attitude and approach the Japanese team showed today was impeccable, and kudos to them,"[/b] India skipper Iyer said.[/p][p][b]"The approach was outstanding. So I'm sure that they are on the right track right now."[/b][/p][embed guid="3879062a-505e-4f63-8018-2ae6049884e7" url="https://x.com/BCCI/status/2102314990028149008" social-type="twitter" /][p]The build-up to what should have been a mismatch was affected by Typhoon Dujuan, with heavy rain in Sano forcing training to be cancelled on Monday.[/p][p]The venue, which is also used for baseball and has a capacity of around 2,000 spectators, was dominated by India fans who had been expecting a rout.[/p][p]Japan will play the opening match of men's T20 cricket at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games against Afghanistan on Thursday at a converted baseball field.[/p]