Japan, ranked 41st in the world, came within three runs of defeating the T20 world champions India in a curtailed match in Sano, a city of 110,000 north of Tokyo. The brief but incident-packed meeting last week between the sport's minnows and giants had hours earlier looked like falling victim to Typhoon Dujuan.
India, who had set Japan a modest 33 to win, were saved by a dot ball off the final delivery, sparking celebrations among India's fans. The relief was writ large on the face of Axar Patel, whose final delivery of the match went for a dot ball.
Political lobbying and a rebuilt pitch
The match took place at the grounds of a disused high school in Sano, a location most Japanese associate with its profusion of ramen restaurants. The event was the result of a succession of coincidences involving politicians and cricket administrators, a Sri Lankan groundsman and an army of nocturnal volunteers armed with sponges.
Naoki Alex Miyaji, chief executive of Japan's cricket association, saw an opportunity to promote the sport when cricket was added to the schedule for the 2026 Asian Games, which opened in Aichi-Nagoya this month. "Initially I thought the idea of Japan playing India was just a dream," Miyaji said. "But the people I sounded out at ICC events were really supportive, although they couldn't promise anything."
History and politics were on Japan's side. Next year Tokyo and New Delhi will celebrate 75 years of diplomatic ties, a relationship that has flourished since the prime ministership of Shinzo Abe and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. In January, Japan's foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi visited New Delhi, where he met Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar. Their strategic dialogue ended with an exchange of gifts: a shocking-pink replica Japan cricket shirt for the host, and a cricket bat signed by members of the Indian team for the visitor.
Motegi's parliamentary constituency, the Tochigi 5th District, includes Sano. Six months later, when Japan's prime minister Sanae Takaichi met Modi in the Indian capital, the leaders signed an agreement that reportedly included mention of a cricket match that would double as a grassroots curtain raiser to the diplomatic anniversary and a prelude to the Asian Games, where India are defending the title they won in 2023 in Hangzhou.
Typhoon Dujuan threatens the match
Japan's opportunity to make their case to the most powerful administrator in world cricket came in July at the ICC's annual general meeting in Edinburgh, where officials raised the prospect of a Japan-India match with a "very supportive" Jay Shah, the body's chairman and son of India's minister of home affairs, Amit Shah. The BCCI gave the match its official blessing as recently as August. "I was, like, wow, this is really going to happen," Miyaji said. "Everything came together at exactly the right time. If any of those factors had been missing, I don't think we would have been able to pull it off."
Concerns about the cost of putting on what would be the most-watched match in Japanese cricket history eased when Suzuki Motors, whose presence in India spans more than four decades, agreed to be its main sponsor. Tickets costing ¥10,000 (£48) apiece sold out in three hours, many of them snapped up by members of Japan's large Indian community.
As the facilities at Sano neared completion – including temporary stands to quadruple the capacity to 2,000 – Typhoon Dujuan was forming over the western Pacific. By last Monday it had swept north, forcing the cancellation of an open practice session at Sano on the eve of the match. About 200 volunteers joined forces while the rain was still coming down, working in shifts through the night to remove water weighing down the covers and to get the outfield as dry as possible. There were 20 to 30 people on the pitch at any one time, some mopping up water with sponges or removing it one shovelful at a time.
A dramatic finish and a historic moment
Sano woke up to bright sunshine that was forecast to last into the afternoon. "It was an incredible feeling," Miyaji said. "I had no idea the whole thing was going to be so complicated. The thought that it could all go pear-shaped because of the rain … I knew there was another pitch inspection coming and I was thinking, please, please, let us play some cricket."
When the outfield was deemed too wet for the planned start time of 1pm, players and Japanese officials feared the worst. India communicated to match officials that they were determined to play. After a final, decisive pitch inspection, the players emerged for a match that had been slashed to just five overs apiece.
The 2,149 people present witnessed cricket history as the sides squeezed every possible drop of drama out of their 10 overs: boundaries, catches, aggressive spin, a run out, and a controversial decision by the on-field umpires to overturn a wide decision that would have left Japan needing an achievable six runs off four balls. "That was a scary half hour," Ravi, an Indian fan who had travelled from his home in Shizuoka, more than 200 miles away, said of the hosts' valiant run chase. "But I'm really proud of Japan, too. They got the chance to improve themselves by playing India, and they put on a magnificent show."
After the skies over Sano had turned red and clusters of Indian fans waited for one last glimpse of their heroes before they boarded the team bus, Sachin Tendulkar offered perhaps the best summary. "There's something very special about watching cricket find new homes," Tendulkar wrote on X. "We've all had our first cricket match. It's lovely to see more people getting theirs."
