Japan will host India in a historic one-off T20 International in Sano on Tuesday, marking the biggest match in the country’s cricket history and celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and Japan.The fixture was announced recently and has been scheduled ahead of India’s Asian Games campaign in Aichi-Nagoya.On paper, it is a one-sided contest. India are the reigning T20 World Cup champions, while Japan are ranked 41st in the format.For Japan’s players, however, the match is a chance to play against one of the biggest teams in world cricket. Most members of the Japanese squad are second-generation Japanese citizens of dual heritage.Typhoon threat over landmark fixtureThe build-up to the match has been affected by Typhoon Dujuan, with heavy rain in Sano creating concerns over whether play will be possible.India’s training session on Monday was cancelled because of rain. Japan’s previous match against Hong Kong on September 20 was also abandoned without a ball being bowled.The Japan Cricket Association is now hoping the weather improves and the ground’s drainage system is able to cope with the rain.“There’s been an awful lot going on in the background of Japan cricket for many, many years, and it’s great now that we are above sea level, I guess, and we’re actually visible to a few more people,” Japan Cricket Association chief operating officer Alan Curr said, as quoted by PTI.“A lot of the success has almost already happened. The fact that India has agreed to come, the fact that I’m sitting here talking to you guys, the fact that there’s already a lot of Japanese media coming tomorrow to find out more about this game and about the sport — I think success is already here,” he added.Sano hosts biggest match in Japanese cricketThe match will be played at the Sano International Cricket Ground, around 100 kilometres from Tokyo, where the Indian team arrived on Sunday.Sano has become known as the “Japanese Cricket Capital” and is one of the main centres for the sport in the country.The ground has a capacity of around 2,000 spectators, although a bigger crowd is expected for India’s match. The venue is also used for baseball.
