India escape Japan shocker in rain-delayed game ahead of Asian Games 2026

Dubai: India has won the one-off T20 match against Japan national side by 2 runs at Sano International Cricket Stadium, Sano. The sole T20 match was played as a buildup for the upcoming Asian Games 2026.

The match commenced after hours of delay due to the wet outfield, with the game eventually played only for five over each. India won the toss and chose to bat.

Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson graced the field only to be stunned by Charlie Hara-Hinze who got Sharma’s wicket in the final ball of the first over.

Samson also followed his opening partner two balls later as a catch in the deep wicket helped get Ibrahim Takashi his first wicket in the match. While many hoped the in-form Ishan Kishan to make an impact, spinner Benjamin Ito-Davis got the left-handed batsman out for a stump.

The skipper Shreyas Iyer led the scoring with 16 runs before Hara-Hinze got him in the final over. The Men in Blue only managed to make 32 in 5 overs, giving their opposition a great opportunity to steal the headlines.

Japan opened the batting with captain Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming and Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake. The latter lost his wicket in the first over after a failed run resulted in a run out. He only managed to make one run.

While new batsman Takashi seems to have gotten a boundary, he was dismissed by Washington Sundar in the second over. Things started to look concerning for the host country, before their skipper led the path.

Fleming scored 12 before his departure in the last ball of the penultimate over. Benjamin Ito-Davis also played a vital role, making 9 runs in 8 balls but couldn’t manage to get the win.

Axar Patel came to India’s aid as he defended 9 runs in the final over. Nevertheless, the Japanese side won the hearts with their effort in the game after losing by only two runs. They scored 30 for 3 in the five overs.

While the Men in Blue escaped the one-off T20 match, the two sides could meet each other once again soon.

Japan will open their Asian Games 2026 against Afghanistan in the Group A game on September 24, meanwhile India already have the ticket to quarterfinals courtesy of the No. 1 ICC ranking in T20I cricket.

Their opponent will be the runners-up of Group A, which could possibly be Japan again. Apart from Afghanistan, the host country also has Nepal in their group who recently won the 2026 ACC Men’s Premier’s Cup. India’s first Asian Games match  will take place on September 28.