India survive scare from Japan in T20 celebration

Japan and India have celebrated 75 years of friendship with an international T20 cricket match as the backdrop, marking a new chapter in sports and diplomacy between the two nations.

Alas the match was reduced to five overs per side, with India prevailing by two runs.

The mostly symbolic game was delayed nearly three hours, first by the late arrival of match officials and the Indian team due to traffic and then by a wet outfield, before Japan gave the three-time world champions a huge scare.

India opted to bat and made 4-32 from their five overs, with skipper Shreyas Iyer scoring 16 off 12 balls.

Japan's Charlie Hara-Hinze, a 17-year-old left-arm spinner, etched his name in the history books by getting Abhishek Sharma out for a duck and dismissing Iyer.

Axar Patel and Washington Sundar then held their own with the ball to defend India's low score. Skipper Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming made 12 runs, but was unable to take his side past the finish line as Japan finished on 3-30.

Despite the defeat, it was a heroic effort from the 41st-ranked Japanese team against the powerful India.

The game was played as part of an agreement reached during a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to mark the 75th anniversary of the nations' diplomatic relationship.