Sano, Sep 22 (IANS): India won the toss and elected to bat against Japan in the one-off T20I, here at the Sano International Cricket Ground on Tuesday.
Due to the wet outfield, the toss, originally scheduled for 9:00 AM IST, was delayed, and it is going to be a 5-over per side game. Before heading to the Asian Games as a defending champion, Indian men are set to play only T20I with Japan.
The contest at the Sano International Cricket Ground in Tochigi Prefecture on Tuesday, September 22, will also mark the launch of celebrations for the 75th anniversary of India-Japan Diplomatic Relations. The match will serve as the first step of “Sport 75”, an initiative aimed at promoting human exchanges and cooperation between India and Japan, making the occasion part of a wider celebration of the relationship between the two nations.
“It’s a big occasion, 75 years of friendship. Five-over game, so it will be our forte to bat first,” said Indian skipper Shreyas Iyer after calling it tails and winning the toss. “I know baseball is quite big here, but today I’m standing right here; the crowd is decent, give something back to them and the supporters back home. Looking forward for an exciting one. It’s important we know the conditions and what’s happening around us; this is what will be on offer in the Asian Games. This game particularly is going to be great practice for us.”
Japan captain Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming said, “We probably would’ve bowled to allow the crowd an opportunity to see some of the best players in the world. But happy either way. Pure excitement. It’s starting to sink in now. We’ve tossed, we’re ready to play, big opportunity for broader cricket community. There are a lot of people working through the night, volunteers. Thanks to JCA, BCCI, our sponsors… It’s amazing; the reigning world champions here wouldn’t have believed this a couple of years ago.”
Playing XIs:
India: 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: 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
