India bagged a thrilling two-run win over Japan in the rain-curtailed five-over fixture at the Sano International Cricket Ground on Tuesday, September 22.
Delving into the details of the game, India batted first and posted only 32/4 in five overs. Shreyas Iyer was the top scorer, amassing 16 runs off 12 balls. For Japan, Charlie Hara scalped two wickets.
In the second innings, Japan managed to score 30/3 in five overs, losing the game by just two runs. Captain Kendel Fleming was the top scorer with 12 runs, but his knock went in vain. Washington Sundar picked up two wickets.
On that note, let’s take a look at what Shreyas Iyer and Kendel Fleming said after the game.
Shreyas Iyer, Indian captain and player of the match:
[How tough was it out there in the middle today?] Well, certainly turning square. Honestly speaking, it was a very difficult wicket to bat on. We saw the openers as well, who are used to scoring runs consistently, not able to gauge the pace of the spin, and I decided when I got in that it’s important that I need to take singles and doubles and rotate the strike as much as possible. I also interacted with the batsmen who came in with me, but it was difficult to do that as well. But honestly speaking, I just decided that I would be playing on the merit of the ball and see, plan accordingly. If the ball is turning and holding a bit, I’ll just use the pace of the ball and hold myself at the back and see to it that I manage for singles and doubles. So that worked out pretty well. [How important is it just to get a little bit of time in the middle just to get used to the conditions there as well?] You see, I always keep saying that five overs game, it can go anywhere. It doesn’t matter how good a team you are, because the oppositions are also competitive, and the attitude and approach the Japanese team showed today was impeccable, and kudos to them. The approach was outstanding. So I’m sure that they are on the right track right now, and they’ve got a couple more matches against Afghanistan and Nepal. They would be brilliant. And for us it was a great practice knowing about the wicket as well.
[On the significance of playing in Sano, the crowd and the wider importance of the fixture] First, congratulations to Japan and India for 75 years of diplomatic relationship. It’s something that we keep talking about every now and then when we arrive. And talking about today’s occasion, it was a long travel for us. It took us three hours to reach here, but at the back of our mind, we had only one thing, that we want to play the game, excite the crowd who has come to see the game and the supporters who’ve been thriving to see to it that this match was organized. So congratulations to everyone who has been present over here to deliver this particular game, and it’s come out so fantastic. Even though it was five overs, I personally feel that at least we got a game to see and to honestly experience such a great performance from the Japanese team and also Indian players as well. So yeah, overall, I feel it was an exciting game, and yeah, honestly, they were also brilliant with their performances.
[On taking on the responsibility of captaining the T20 World Cup champions and Asian Games gold medalists] I think it’s a pleasure to be leading the Indian team with the performances you’ve seen in the past, winning so many trophies. It’s a great responsibility as well, but without responsibility, it doesn’t come pressure, and I feel that I thrive under pressure. So it’s a great role for me, and I always feel that the captaincy is something that gets the best out of me, so I’m always loving to explore this. [On India’s Asian Games campaign and the goal of winning another gold medal] See, that is the eventual goal, but it’s important that we take one step at a time. First we go to Nagoya, assess the conditions and have the awareness how the wicket is going to play. I’m sure there are other teams as well who come with the same motive, but for us it’s about setting a standard and keep going beyond that and not think about what has happened in the past or what’s going to come. So the more we stick to the present, the better for us.
Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming, Japan captain:
[How proud of you are for your team and for Japan cricket in general?] 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. 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. And to hear someone like Shreyas talking about the progression of Japan cricket is still quite surreal. So, extremely proud of our group and the broader cricket community that we were able to make this game happen. And without Suzuki, the title sponsor, without the BCCI, to who we’re very grateful, and the JCA, this game wouldn’t have been possible. And even beyond that, there were people working on this ground through the whole night, volunteers, our female team who are here as well to support us, worked through the night to make this game happen. So, feeling extremely proud, not only of my team at the moment, but also the broader community. [What were your thoughts at the halfway mark?] Yeah, I think it was just excitement. We ran in and we knew that “anything is possible” was the attitude. They’ve got some world-class spinners, Axar, Washington and Ravi Bishnoi bowling on our spinning wicket. We knew it was going to be an extreme challenge, but at six and a half an over your mind does sort of wander and think you get a couple out of the middle and you never know. So, as I said, extremely proud for us to take it to the last ball of the game.
I’m sure there will be a couple of moments that replay through our minds on the long bus ride now to Nanjing, but yeah, it’s a feeling of pride at the moment. [A word on the bowlers?] We’ve known that Charlie’s been around our men’s squad for a couple of years. He’s our 17-year-old prodigy. I was a little bit disappointed that the 15-year-old prodigy Vaibhav (Sooryavanshi) wasn’t part of the team sheet today, but yeah, I mean, look, he’s progressing extremely well, with ball and in the field, and he showed that today, taking the first and the fifth. I wasn’t surprised with how he went, and for the other two as well, Ito-Davis, Takahashi, to be able to bowl to some of the best players of spin in the world and to show their wares on this stage was great from them. [Do you dare to dream of a move into the knockout stages for an Asian Games medal?] Yeah, absolutely. I think that today was a really momentous occasion in that it was the first time we were able to face a full member. We’ve got around a 36-hour turnaround now till our second game against a full member. So we’re going to rest up tomorrow and we’ll prepare for that game, and obviously if we win one of our next two matches, we’re a chance to play another full member in the knockouts. So that’s definitely the goal. Two extremely strong opponents we’ve got over the next three days, but we’ll be competing as hard as we can.
