The change of decision was not protested by the Japanese batters but there were mixed reactions from fans on social media
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India’s captain Shreyas Iyer and Japan’s captain Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming exchange greetings at the end of the one-off T20I match between India and Japan at the Sano International Cricket Ground in Sano, Japan, on Tuesday, September 22, 2026(Photo: IANS/X/@BCCI
A major controversy erupted during the historic one-off T20I match between reigning world T20 champions India and Asian Games 2026 hosts Japan at the Sano International Cricket Ground earlier todayThe incident occurred during the final over, which was bowled by Indian all-rounder Axar Patel.
In what was a truncated five-over affair, Indian captain Shreyas Iyer batted first after winning the tossThe decision immediately backfired the visitors as they suffered a batting collapse with the top three batters – Sanju Samson (9), Abhishek Sharma (golden duck) and Ishan Kishan – accounting for only 12 runs.
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Shreyas Iyer’s Team India defeat Japan in a thrilling match by 2 runs in historic first-ever match
If it wasn’t for Shreyas Iyer’s fighting 16 off 12, then India could not have even posted 32 runs as the target for Japan who also suffered a batting collapseThe hosts lost opener Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake for just a single run while number three Ibrahim Takahashi departed for just four.
Skipper Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming and Benjamin Ito-Davis were the standout performers with scores of 12 and 9 respectivelyThe match was stuck in a very delicate situation towards the back end of Japan’s chase but the Indians saved themselves from major embarrassment with a narrow two-run victory.
But before India secured the win, the players, including captain Shreyas Iyer appeared to influence the on-field umpires in changing their decision that was initially in favour of JapanThe incident happened in the all-important final over bowled by Axar Patel.
The all-rounder bowled a leg-sided delivery from around the wicket and the ball spun wickedly before landing onto Sanju Samson’s gloves behindNumber five batter Alexander Shirai-Patmore was on strike and although he attempted to play a reverse sweep, he completely missed the ball that turned away from him.
The on-field umpire immediately signaled wide and that infuriated Axar Patel whose expressions described what he felt about the decisionShreyas Iyer also jumped into it as he briefly spoke with one of the officials before the decision makers controversially called-off their initial wide call.
The change of decision was not protested by the Japanese batters but there were mixed reactions from fans on social media.
Regardless of whether that ball should have been called a wide or not, the umpire has clearly had his mind changed by the player, which is all kinds of wrong#INDvsJAP pic.twitter.com/9HbGxC9tiS
— Avnish Tiwari (@avnishtiwarii) September 22, 2026
One user wrote that umpiring decisions should be solely based on rules not on the basis of a players’ reaction or pressureAnother user felt that it was not a review but a negotiation.
There was another user who said that the ICC must take action against Shreyas Iyer for his interventionThere were also a few supportive comments.
One user came in support of the change in decision, stating that an umpire is allowed to change their decision if they realize they are wrong while others said that it was not a wide since the batter attempted a switch hit.
