India captain Shreyas Iyer and Japan's Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming (Source: AFP Photos)After a long delay, the much-anticipated India vs Japan match is all set to get underway at Sano International Cricket Ground. India T20I captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat first in this historic encounter, which has never happened before.Notably, Shreyas Iyer became the first-ever captain across the world to opt to bat first in a 5-over rain-marred match, where captains prefer to chase due to unfavourable weather conditions.India vs Japan: Updated Playing ConditionsUnfortunately for fans, India did not give a chance to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who was thought to be in action after warming the bench on all three occasions during the recently concluded India vs Afghanistan T20Is.Nevertheless, let’s take a look at the revised playing conditions for the first-ever India Vs Japan match.The match was supposed to begin way earlier. Unfortunately, rain and a wet outfield did not allow it to happen, which forced the officials to delay the start to 12 PM IST (3:30 PM Local Time).The India vs Japan match match was reduced to five overs a side.The powerplay will have nine balls, or 1.3 overs.India vs Japan Playing XIsAlongside not giving Sooryavanshi a chance, India decided to give Jasprit Bumrah a rest. Vipraj Nigam, who recently joined India’s Asian Games squad in place of Varun Chakaravarthy, was not in India's playing XI either.India XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Yash Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep SinghJapan XI: Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake, Reo Sakurano-Thomas, Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming (c), Benjamin Ito-Davis, Wataru Miyauchi, Alexander Shirai-Patmore (wk), Charlie Hara-Hinze, Ibrahim Takahashi, Declan Suzuki-McComb, Makoto Taniyama, Shoma Sugaya-SlaterIndia vs Japan: What Do Captains Say?Shreyas Iyer: "We are going to bat first. It is obviously a big occasion. We know each the for 75 years. It will be an exciting one. We wanted to explore the conditions. 5-over game. That will be our forte to bat first.[On captaining India in Japan] I never envisioned that I would come to Japan and captain one day. I know that baseball is quite big here. But today, I am standing right here; the crowd is decent. There is a lot of support. It is important that we give them something, and also the people watching back home. It is important that this match happens, and we are looking for an exciting one.Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming: “We probably would have bowled just to give the crowd an opportunity to see some of the best players in the world go at it, but yeah, I was happy all the way.[On leading Japan against India] It is just pure excitement. I think it has started to sink in now; we got the toss and are ready to play. But yeah, it is an amazing opportunity for the players. Hopefully, we can put on a show.[On how good it is to face India ahead of the Asian Games] Yeah, it is amazing. The current world champions are coming here to play against us in Sano. We would not have believed it if you had told us a few years ago. Then to play against another full member next week is another wonderful opportunity for our men's team. But at this stage, we have got our hands full, so we're fully focused on this game."Also Read: India vs Japan Live Streaming, Live Telecast- Where To Watch Only T20I 2026 In India?
