Watch: Ishan Kishan's direct hit runs out Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake for 1 vs Japan

Ishan Kishan’s superb direct hit dismissed Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake for just one run during their defence of the one-off T20I between India and Japan at the Sano International Cricket Ground in Sano, Kanto, before holding their nerve to claim a fine win by 2 runs.

After a delayed start by three hours due to the persistent rain, the Indian captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and decided to bat first on a surface which had a hint of spin and created issues for the batters. They again decided to remove Vaibhav Sooryavanshi from the playing XI. 

Ishan Kishan's stunning direct hit from the deep sends back Yamamoto-Lake in Japan's chase

On the fifth delivery of the opening over of the innings, Axar Patel went with a short ball against Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake, who dragged the ball into the deep square leg region. He challenged the throw of Kishan and paid the price. The fielder hit the bull’s eye and hit the one stump, which was the one to aim at.

Watch Ishan Kishan's direct hit here- 

Japan lost the wicket in the very first over of the innings. It was the kind of start the blue brigade was looking for. In the very second over of the innings, Washington Sundar dismissed Ibrahim for just four runs before getting the wicket of Kendel Fleming for 12 runs.

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Kishan, who failed in the first innings with the bat, showed his superb fielding performance to get the vital wicket at the start of the innings and keep their heads high.

India hold nerve to win thriller by 2 runs against Japan

India struggled with the bat during the first innings of the contest as they were restricted to 32 runs for the loss of four wickets in their allotted five overs. Their captain collected 16 runs off 12 balls at a strike rate of 133.33, striking one boundary. Charlie Hinze returned with figures of 2/17 in two overs.

Japan did well with the ball but failed to put in the same performance with the bat and fell short by two runs. Sundar ended with figures of 2/13 in two overs. India became the first team to register 200 wins in T20Is, including the super over wins.

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It was India’s fourth-lowest winning margin by runs in the shortest format of the second. Their other two-run win came against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in 2023.

Brief Scores: India 32/4 (Shreyas Iyer 16, Charlie Hinze 2/17) beat Japan 30/3 (Kendel Fleming 12, Washington Sundar 2/13) by 2 runs.