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India National Cricket Team nearly won a match from the jaws of defeat against the Japan National Cricket Team. The Men in Blue won the Suzuki Cup by 2 runs on Tuesday at the Sano International Stadium, Japan. After the match, former India opener Aakash Chopra took a dig at the pitch and the playing conditions at the ground.
The Men in Blue played the game against Japan to celebrate over 75 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. It was decided by the two respective Prime Ministers of the countries in the "Sport 75" initiative, with the first main aim to promote human exchanges and sports collaboration. India is set to take the field directly in the quarter-final of the Asian Games 2026.
Aakash Chopra slams Japan for poor pitch and ground preparation
Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Aakash Chopra said, speaking on his YouTube Channel revealed, that the pitch is the most challenging thing, as the game started very quickly and ended quickly. He feels that matches cannot be played on the pitches at the Sano International Stadium. He feels that if cricket is taken into remote places, the pitches should be better.
"As far as the pitch is concerned, it is a big challenge. Because the way it played and the match happened, started quickly and ended quickly, it almost went like a blur. But matches cannot be played on these types of pitches if you want to take international cricket to remote areas. It has to be played on better surfaces."
"It is not raining, but the ground is not drying up because you don't have a super sopper or the capacity to cover it. If you are playing an international match here, then it is just not good enough. This is a challenge that everyone will have to sort out," Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
"Not a huge fan of a 5-over game": Aakash Chopra on five-over game
Aakash Chopra felt that at one stage both teams felt that the match was to be called off. He feels that both teams, especially the Indian team, were having fun around the ground. He is also not a fan of the five-over game, but reveals that it was acceptable given the circumstances of the ground early on.
"Genuinely, at one stage, you thought that we're done. We were thinking fun and frolic, we'll just laugh and giggle and get through it. The Indian team also seemed to have similar intentions and attitude, which is understandable and acceptable. Not a huge fan of a 5-over game, but under the circumstances, it was okay," Aakash Chopra added.
India won a thriller in Suzuki Cup
Coming to the game, India won the toss and opted to bat first. They lost both openers: Abhishek Sharma for a duck, and soon Sanju Samson followed for 9 runs. Shreyas Iyer was the highest scorer with 14 runs as they put up a decent total of 32 runs.
At one stage, Japan had the game with six required off four deliveries, but Axar Patel kept his calm and used all his experience to defend, as he gave up three runs in the last over as India won by 2 runs.
