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India National Cricket Team captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat first in the historic one-off T20I match against the Japan National Cricket Team on Tuesday, September 22, at the Sano International Cricket Ground, Sano. However, Abhishek Sharma failed to make an impact in Sano.
Abhishek failed to carry forward his red-hot form despite coming into the historic one-off T20I game following a record-breaking century against Afghanistan in the third and final T20I last week in Delhi.
Abhishek Sharma falls for golden duck as Japan shock India early in historic T20I
The India National Cricket Team suffered an early blow against the Japan National Cricket Team as opener Abhishek Sharma was dismissed for a golden duck in the ongoing one-off T20I match at the Sano International Cricket Ground on Tuesday (September 22).
Charlie Hara-Hinze provided Japan with a dream start by removing the dangerous left-hander in the first over itself. Hara-Hinze bowled a delivery on the leg stump, which Abhishek tried to work towards the fine-leg region. The Indian batter got a top edge, sending the ball high into the air.
Shoma Sugaya-Slater displayed great game awareness and ran back from the short field to complete a sensational catch, with Abhishek walking back after facing only one delivery. Interestingly, Charlie Hara-Hinze was the bowler who had dismissed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in 2024.
Embarrassing record for Abhishek Sharma
With this embarrassing outing, Abhishek has made an unwanted record in T20I cricket. He has now become the Indian opener with the most golden ducks in the shorter format of the game.
Most Golden Duck by Indian Openers in T20I
5 - Abhishek Sharma*
4 - Rohit Sharma
3 - Sanju Samson
2 - KL Rahul
1 - Murali Vijay
1 - Ajinkya Rahane
1 - Prithvi Shaw
1 - Shikhar Dhawan
1 - Virat Kohli
1 - Shubman Gill
Abhishek Sharma enters T20 record books for wrong reason
Abhishek Sharma added one more unwanted record to his name in T20 cricket. The Indian batter has registered 10 ducks in T20 matches in 2026 which is the most ducks in a calendar year.
Punjab lad now has surpassed Afghanistan star Rashid Khan and Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan, both of whom have nine ducks each in 2019 and 2024 respectively. With more matches in line-up, Abhishek currently holds the unwanted record with 10 ducks in 2026.
Most Ducks in a Calendar Year in T20s
10 - Abhishek Sharma (2026)*
9 - Rashid Khan (2019)
9 - Shadab Khan (2024)Most Ducks in a Calendar Year in T20s
Additionally, Abhishek has now recorded five first-ball ducks in T20Is in 2026. He shares this unwanted record with Rwanda’s Kevin Irakoze, who had 5 in 2023, and Zimbabwe’s Richard Ngarava, who also recorded 5 in 2024, the most first-ball dismissals by a batter in a calendar year. Amid this, Asian Games 2026: Harmanpreet Kaur & Co. end India's Gold medal wait with terrific win.
Men in Blue collapse before stunning 2-run T20I win
India got another setback a few balls after Abhishek’s departure, as Sanju Samson was dismissed for 9 runs by Ibrahim Takahashi. He bowled a flighted delivery that turned into Samson. He tried to play the ball straight down the ground, but the turn caused a thick inside edge.
The ball went towards deep mid-wicket, where Benjamin Ito-Davis took a brilliant catch as the Indian wicketkeeper-batter walked out after facing only seven deliveries for nine runs. Japan continued their dominance by picking up two more quick wickets.
Ishan Kishan was dismissed for 3 off 6 balls by Benjamin Ito-Davis. Soon after, Shreyas Iyer also departed for 16 off 12 balls. Charlie Hara-Hinze got his second wicket as Iyer mistimed an inside-out shot towards deep extra cover, where Taniyama completed another excellent catch.
The Men in Blue were bowled out for 32/4 in 5 overs, but the bowlers made a stunning comeback as Japan could manage only 30 runs in their 5 overs, with India winning the historic one-off T20I by 2 runs before kicking off their Asian Games 2026 campaign.
