‘Credit to the Japan team for taking on the challenge and putting up a fight.’
IMAGE: India, the World T20 Champions, and Japan played a T20 game at Sano on September 22, 2026. Photograph: Japan Cricket Association/Instagram
Key Points
- Sachin Tendulkar expressed delight at cricket ‘finding new homes’ and more people experiencing their first match.
- India secured a narrow two run victory over Japan in a rain-affected five-over T20I match.
- India’s women’s team won the gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, defeating Sri Lanka in the final.
Sachin Tendulkar found a lot to admire beyond the result of India’s narrow win over Japan, drawing attention to the growing efforts to make cricket easier for Japanese fans to understand and enjoy.
Tendulkar highlighted the simple gesture of handing out cricket reckoners to spectators before Tuesday’s rain-hit T20I in Sano, calling it a sign of the sport finding ‘new homes’.
Embracing Cricket in Japan
‘There’s something very special about watching cricket find new homes,’ Tendulkar wrote on X.
‘Seeing India play Japan is wonderful in itself, but what made me smile was seeing reckoners being given to the audience at the entrance so they could understand the game better.’
The India-Japan match, a one-off T20I, was reduced to five overs per side after rain. India made only 32/4, with Captain Shreyas Iyer scoring 16, before surviving a scare from the hosts to win by two runs.
Japan needed eight from the final over but managed only five, giving India a narrow victory.
Tendulkar’s Perspective on Growth
For Tendulkar, though, the result was not the biggest takeaway. He was encouraged by the way Japan is embracing the game and making it easier for spectators to connect with cricket.
‘We’ve all had our first cricket match. It’s lovely to see more people getting theirs,’ he added.
Tendulkar also praised the Japanese team for the way they took on the challenge against one of the game’s biggest sides.
‘Credit to the Japan team for taking on the challenge and putting up a fight,’ he wrote.
Japan’s women’s team faced India in their first Asian Games appearance on September 18, losing by eight wickets after being bowled out for 57.
India, meanwhile, opened their gold medal account at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Tuesday, with Harmanpreet Kaur’s side defeating Sri Lanka by 147 runs to retain the women’s cricket title.
Smriti Mandhana top-scored with 79 off 45 balls, while Shafali Verma made 48 and Richa Ghosh remained unbeaten on 49 off 22 as India posted 216/3 before bowling Sri Lanka out for 69.
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