India's first-ever international cricket match on Japanese soil was reduced to the minimum five overs required to constitute a valid match as the ground was still sodden from heavy rainfall on the two days leading up to September 22.

Iyer scored a 12-ball-16 which allowed India to post 32/4 at the end of their five overs. Charles Hinze registered figures of 2/17 while Ibrahim Takahashi and Benjamin Ito-Davis claimed one wicket apiece to stall India’s scoring rate.

World champions India survived ​a scare before edging out ‌minnows Japan by two runs in a Twenty20 International that was ​reduced to five overs ​per side due to rain ⁠on Tuesday.

India left out Bumrah, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Vipraj Nigam from their 14-member squad after a rain-delayed start to the historic contest

Overnight rain in Tokyo and nearby areas led to delay of more than two hours in the one-off T20I match between India and Japan at the Sano International Cricket Ground on Tuesday.

"When [the game] gets that close, [the loss is] actually a little bit tougher to take," Japan captain Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming says after narrow defeat to India

India, however, survived the banana peel of a five-over shootout on what was a possible reincarnation of the mythical sticky dog. In the process, they created the record for the smallest total successfully defended in a five-over T20, winning a thriller by two runs despite scoring only 32.

A controversial wide reversal during the final over added drama as India survived Japan by two runs in a rain-shortened T20I at Sano International Cricket Ground.

Cricket occupies a small space in Japan's consciousness, but that space, ahead of India's historic T20I visit to the country, is growing steadily