India produced a remarkable bowling performance to defeat Japan by two runs in a rain-shortened five-over T20 match, successfully defending just 32 runs.
The historic encounter was Japan’s first-ever T20 match against India. After two days of heavy rain, ground staff worked extensively to prepare the field, with the match eventually reduced to five overs per side.
The pitch proved extremely slow and spin-friendly, making it difficult for batters to score freely. All 10 overs in the match were bowled by spinners, while the two teams managed only four boundaries combined.
Iyer Anchors India’s Innings
India won the toss and elected to bat but suffered an early setback when Abhishek Sharma was dismissed for a first-ball duck.
Captain Shreyas Iyer then took responsibility for guiding India through the difficult conditions. Rather than attempting risky shots, Iyer focused on rotating the strike and building a competitive total.
He scored 16 runs from 12 balls to finish as India’s top scorer. India eventually posted 32 for 4 in their five overs.
Japan Fight Back
India made a strong start with the ball. Axar Patel conceded just two runs in the opening over, while Japan also lost Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake to a direct-hit run-out from Ishan Kishan.
Japan slipped to 7 for 2, putting India in control.
However, Japan mounted a comeback in the third and fourth overs. Ravi Bishnoi conceded 10 runs in his over, while Washington Sundar gave away seven, leaving Japan needing only eight runs from the final over.
Axar Holds His Nerve
Axar Patel returned to bowl the decisive final over and delivered under pressure. Despite conceding a wide, he restricted Japan to just five runs and prevented them from finding a boundary or hitting the winning shot.
Japan ended their five overs at 30 for 3, finishing two runs short of India’s total.
The victory saw India create a remarkable record by successfully defending 32 runs—the lowest total ever defended in a five-over T20 match.
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