T20 world champions survive almighty Japanese scare

India have survived an almighty scare, defeating Japan by two runs in the one-off T20I in Sano.

The Japanese, ranked 41st in the world, needed eight runs off Axar Patel's final over but the experienced spinner held his nerve, much to the disappointment of the healthy home crowd.

The match looked destined to be rained off with some unrelenting weather at the ground, northwest of Tokyo, but after three hours of waiting around, a toss took place with India's Shreyas Iyer electing to bat first in a five-overs-per-side contest.

The wicket was slow, the outfield was sluggish and scoring proved to be very challenging.

Brisbane's Charlie Hara-Hinze dismissed Abhishek Sharma for a golden duck in the game's first over and the hosts struck in the next two overs as well, leaving India reeling at 3-14.

Captain Iyer restored some semblance of credibility with 16 off 12, but the visitors' 4-32 looked well below par.

India's plan to employ an all-spin attack seemed to be the right call as Japan slipped to 2-7, but their captain Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming (12), who also plays for Northern Suburbs in Brisbane grade cricket, kept them right in the contest.

There was controversy in Axar's final over, with a wide called against a reverse-sweeping Alex Shirai-Patmore overturned after an objection from Iyer and wicketkeeper Sanju Samson.

With four needed off the final ball, Shirai-Patmore could only manage one and the world champions were spared the blushes of losing against their far less fancied opponent.

"I'm extremely proud," skipper Kadowaki-Fleming said after the match.

"When it gets that close, it's tougher to take. Emotions were running high and the fact we were able to run the best team in the world to the last ball is pretty special." 

For India, the match offered a taste of Japanese conditions ahead of the Asian Games which begins on September 24 in Nagoya. Playing conditions are expected to be similar there.

"It was turning square, honestly speaking," India's captain Iyer said. "It was a very tough wicket to bat on."

"The attitude and approach from the Japanese team was impeccable."