The only T20I match between India and Japan on Tuesday saw controversy along with excitement. India beat Japan by just 2 runs in this rain-affected match. But wide’s reversal of decision in the last over of the match has raised questions. This match was played on 22 September.
Japan needed 8 runs from the last over to win. Akshar Patel was bowling. On the third ball of the over, he bowled the ball into the leg side of Alexander Shirai-Patmore. The batsman tries to play a reverse sweep, but misses the ball.
On-field umpire Chris Thurgate declared it wide. Indian captain Shreyas Iyer was not happy with the decision and spoke to square leg empire Chris Brown. After this the two empires discussed and changed the decision of Vaid. The ball was declared a dead ball and the extra run awarded to Japan was withdrawn. This decision proved to be crucial in terms of the outcome of the match, as the Japanese team ended up falling just 2 runs short of the target.
The match was reduced to 5-5 overs due to rain and dampness of the field. Due to the moisture on the pitch, the ball was getting more turn than expected. Japan’s spinners took advantage of that and restricted a strong batting line-up like India to just 32/4 runs. India hit only three fours in their innings. Japanese left-arm spinner Charlie Hara-Hinze took 2 for 17 runs and off-spinner Ibrahim Takahashi took 1 wicket for 13 runs.
Abhishek Sharma could not even open an account. He tried to play a slog sweep off Hara-Hinz but the shot was mistimed. Takahashi tricked Sanju Samson by giving him flight. Samson scored 10 runs and was caught out on the mid-wicket boundary.