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World champions India narrowly survived being on the end of a huge upset as they edged a spirited Japan by two runs in a rain-shortened first-ever T20 international between the teams on Tuesday.<\/strong><\/p>\n The historic match celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations took place at Japan\u2019s modest Sano International Cricket Ground outside Tokyo.<\/p>\n It was Japan\u2019s first T20 game against a full-member nation.<\/p>\n India, who retained their T20 World Cup crown at home earlier this year, opted to bat first after rain and wet outfield delayed the start and forced a five-overs-a-side shootout.<\/p>\n India, captained by Shreyas Iyer, struggled to score on a sluggish pitch as they made 32-4.<\/p>\n Japan \u2014 ranked 41st by the International Cricket Council (ICC) \u2014 pushed their more illustrious opponents all the way as they threatened a massive shock.<\/p>\n They were in the game until the last ball but finished on 30-3, falling agonisingly just short.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, extremely proud, as I think I\u2019ve been saying to a few other guys, that when it gets that close, it\u2019s actually a little bit tougher to take, and the emotions are running pretty high in our group,\u201d Japan skipper Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the fact that we were able to run the best team in the world, in my opinion, to the last ball of a game is pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n Japan\u2019s 17-year-old spinner Charlie Hara-Hinze stood out with figures of 2-17 in his two overs after he opened the attack and sent back opener Abhishek Sharma for a golden duck.<\/p>\n Kadowaki-Fleming attempted to pull off the chase in his run-a-ball 12, but India\u2019s experienced spinners saved the heavyweights from embarrassment.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter how good a team you are, because the oppositions are also competitive, and the attitude and approach the Japanese team showed today was impeccable, and kudos to them,\u201d India skipper Iyer said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe approach was outstanding. So I\u2019m sure that they are on the right track right now.\u201d<\/p>\n The build-up to what should have been a mismatch was affected by Typhoon Dujuan, with heavy rain in Sano forcing training to be cancelled on Monday.<\/p>\n The venue, which is also used for baseball and has a capacity of around 2,000 spectators, was dominated by India fans who had been expecting a rout.<\/p>\n Japan will play the opening match of men\u2019s T20 cricket at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games against Afghanistan on Thursday at a converted baseball field.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n