Historic Japan T20 match kicks off Indian cricket marathon

India’s cricket season is in full swing as they prepare to showcase their top-level talent over the upcoming weeks. On Tuesday, Japan, ranked 41st in the world, will host India in a historic match at the Aichi-Nagoya Games. India, who have recently dropped behind England in the ICC rankings, will field a full-strength team in hopes of defending their gold medal at the Asian Games.

Ahead of the first match at the Sano International Cricket Ground, the Indian team played a one-off match against Associate side Japan to familiarize themselves with the conditions. This inaugural Suzuki Cup, the first international game between the nations, will be played at a makeshift venue in Sano, with soil from Sano used to construct the main cricket stadium.

Japan’s cricket community will be thrilled as they have never played a bilateral international against a team with such a significant ranking gap. All-rounder Benjamin Ito-Davis expressed his excitement to represent Japan on the global stage and promote cricket in Japan. Meanwhile, India will begin a busy month with the West Indies commencing a white-ball tour of India, followed by the main national team competing at the Asian Games in Japan.

Other top Indian players will face a strong Australian team in an A team series at home, including one-day and multi-day games. The rest of India's talent pool will play against domestic first-class champions Jammu & Kashmir next week. Making the most of the situation, India's training session for their first-ever T20 against Japan was canceled due to rain and stormy conditions caused by Typhoon Dujuan, which has also affected some events at the ongoing Asian Games.