Taro Kono, a Japanese politician who was a former minister in the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, felt both surprised and proud about the emergence of Japan’s men’s cricket team after their match against the Indian team in a historic one-off T20I held on Tuesday, September 22.

The three-time World T20 champions struggled on the slow, turning track at the Sano International Cricket Ground.

First, Japanese bowlers stunned the famed Indian batting lineup and kept them to 32/4 in 5 overs, with Shreyas Iyer top-scoring with 16 runs. Then, despite captain Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming’s 12 runs, Japanese batters couldn’t withstand some smart bowling by Indian spinners as they fell short by 2 runs in the end.

Kono had anticipated an easy victory for the Indian team but left the stadium feeling optimistic that Japan could compete for an Olympic medal. Japan, which currently ranks 41st amongst T20I sides, put up a good show in the shortened five-over game against the Indian team.

“I thought the Indian team would kill us, but it was 'almost.' So, well, thank you very much for your consideration. I hope, you know, they’re going to have a bigger cricket population in Japan. It (cricket) is going to be in the Olympic Games. So maybe our cricket team has some hope for the Olympic Games," Kono told news agency ANI.

Rain and the underlying moisture made the recently developed pitch offer considerable turn. Japanese spinners Charlie Hara, Hinze, Ibrahim Takahashi, and Benjamin Ito-Davis troubled the Indian batters, with Abhishek Sharma falling for a duck, Sanju Samson making 10 runs, and Ishan Kishan making 3.

Japan and India will now feature in the Asian Games 2026, where India will straight play in the second quarterfinal on September 28, while Japan will play Afghanistan in Nisshin on September 24.