India defend 32 against Japan to become the first team to 200 T20I wins

India defended 32 against Japan at Sano to win a five-over international by two runs and become the first men's side to reach 200 T20I victories

Japan went into the final over of a rain-shortened international at Sano International Cricket Ground on Tuesday needing eight to win, and closed on 30 for 3. India won by two runs in the first senior men's meeting between the two countries.

Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bat, and India were held to 32 for 4 from their five overs. The total looked slight until Japan found the same gripping surface just as hard to score on.

The result was India's 200th win in men's T20Is, a figure no other side has reached.

Eight from the last over

Axar Patel was handed the final over with eight to defend, and Japan could not get to it.

The two batters at the close, Benjamin Ito-Davis and the wicketkeeper Alexander Shirai-Patmore, finished 9 not out from 8 balls and 2 not out from 3, neither of them finding a boundary all innings.

Axar ended with 0 for 7 from his two overs, the most economical spell on either side.

India got through the five overs with three bowlers, all of them spinners, on a pitch that had already turned for Japan's three.

Sundar takes the two that mattered

Washington Sundar took 2 for 13 from his two overs and removed the two batters who had got Japan moving.

Japan's captain Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming made 12 from 12 before Yash Thakur caught him, and Ibrahim Takahashi had reached 4 from 3 when Ravi Bishnoi held the catch.

Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake was run out by Ishan Kishan for 1 from 4 balls, and Bishnoi went for 10 in the single over he bowled. Two wides were the whole of Japan's extras.

Iyer alone in double figures

Iyer's 16 from 12 balls was the only India innings to reach double figures, and he was named player of the match.

India's captain called it "a very difficult wicket to bat on" afterwards.

Abhishek Sharma was out to the first ball he faced, Sanju Samson made 9 from 7 and Kishan 3 from 6.

Japan used three bowlers, all spinners. Charlie Hara-Hinze took 2 for 17, Takahashi 1 for 13, and Ito-Davis conceded two runs and took a wicket in the one over he was given.

Tilak Varma was 1 not out from three balls and Shivam Dube unbeaten without scoring from one. Three wides were the whole of India's extras, and Samson and Iyer hit one boundary apiece.

First to 200

India's 200th T20I win puts them clear of every other side in the format, and it came 20 years after the first, against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2006.

They have played more T20Is than anyone else in that time, and the 200th arrived in a fixture against a side ranked far below them, decided by two runs.

The margin was the smallest part of it. India had 30 balls to bat, lost four wickets in them, and still had enough left to defend.

Five overs was all the weather allowed

A wet outfield pushed the toss back through a series of inspections before the umpires settled on five overs a side.

The match was designated the Suzuki Cup by the two boards, played to mark 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and Japan.

It was the first time Japan had met a side of India's standing in a men's international, and they came within two runs of it.

Japan arrived at Sano on the back of a win over Papua New Guinea in T20 World Cup qualifying, and their captain and their bowlers were the reason the game went to a last over at all.

Scorecard: India 32 for 4 (Iyer 16, Hara-Hinze 2-17) beat Japan 30 for 3 (Kadowaki-Fleming 12, Sundar 2-13) by two runs.

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