India vs Japan one-off T20I: Typhoon Dujuan raises rain threat over historic Suzuki Cup clash in Sano
India are set to take on Japan in a historic one-off T20 International at the Sano International Cricket Ground in Tochigi on Tuesday. The match, being played for the Suzuki Cup, is part of the celebrations marking 75 years of India-Japan diplomatic relations and is being held under the ‘Sport 75’ initiative aimed at strengthening sporting exchanges between the two countries.
The fixture will be the first time the men’s national cricket teams of India and Japan face each other in an international match. It will also be India’s first international cricket match in Japan.
India have named a 14-member squad for the Japan T20I, with Shreyas Iyer as captain.
The squad includes wicketkeepers Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan, along with Jasprit Bumrah, who is part of the updated squad. Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Thakur and Vipraj Nigam are the other members.
Varun Chakravarthy was ruled out because of a side strain and was replaced by Nigam. All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was part of the original Asian Games squad, was withdrawn and added to India’s ODI squad against the West Indies.
Will rain play spoilsport in India vs Japan match?
Weather conditions could be a factor in Sano on Tuesday. AccuWeather’s forecast for Tuesday lists a high temperature of around 28°C for Sano, with rain forecast during the day.
The weather concerns stem from Typhoon Dujuan’s impact on eastern Japan ahead of the match. India were unable to hold their scheduled training session on Monday because of heavy rain.
The typhoon is moving towards Japan’s eastern Pacific coast, with weather authorities warning of heavy rain and strong winds in parts of the region. The Kanto-Koshin area is among the regions expected to receive significant rainfall.
The Sano International Cricket Ground is located in Sano City in Tochigi Prefecture. Tochigi is situated in the northern part of the Kanto region, an inland prefecture north of Tokyo.
The timing of the match is significant, as the forecast indicates a possibility of showers later in the day. According to AccuWeather, there is a 49% chance of rain in Sano at 4 pm local time, and this increases to 51% at 5 pm. The match is scheduled to start at 1 pm local time.
Japan will be playing against an India side featuring several established international players, while the match represents the Japanese men’s team’s first meeting with an ICC Full Member in international cricket. The fixture is therefore also part of Japan’s ongoing efforts to develop the sport domestically.
After the match against Japan, Iyer and co will switch focus to the Asian Games, with their campaign beginning on 28 September with a quarterfinal match.
Hosts Japan will also compete in the men’s cricket competition of the Asian Games. They will first compete in the six-team preliminary round and hope to be one of the four teams that qualify for the quarterfinals.
