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India's men's national cricket team made history today (September 22) in Sano by defeating Japan's men's national cricket team. Rain-soaked, overcast conditions turned the match between the two uneven sides into a thriller. The Shreyas Iyer-led team, however, won the 5-over match by 2 runs.
No one expected the world's best T20I side to win by two runs against a lower-ranked team. But a win is a win, and it was enough for the Men in Blue to touch a milestone in international cricket. As the first team in international cricket, India claimed 200 wins in T20 International cricket.
T20I match against Japan carried historic significance.
The match against Japan itself was a historic event in cricket history. It was the first time India went to Japan to face their national cricket team in a bilateral international cricket match. Because of the ground conditions, at one point the match looked uncertain to stage. There was no floodlight in the stadium in Sano, so the match officials finally decided to arrange a 5-over match to conclude it before sunset.
The away side was heavily favoured to win the match because of their squad strength and experience at the highest level of the game. The five-over match ended in a thriller. Japan came very close to causing an upset as well. Batting first, the Shreyas Iyer-led team managed to score only 32 runs in 5 overs, losing 4 wickets. Japan, on the other side, chasing the total, claimed 30 runs in the stipulated over limit.
Historic matches for Team India in men's T20 Internationals
The win against the Japan cricket team marked India's 200th win in men's T20 international cricket. The first win in the format they claimed against South Africa was in 2006 in Johannesburg, by 6 wickets. T
he 50th T20I win was against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2017, and the 100th win was in Kolkata against West Indies. The 150th and 200th were against Australia and Japan, respectively. Apart from the 100th win, which was against West Indies, India's milestone wins in the T20Is were in away matches.
They needed the least number of matches to claim their last fifty wins. In only 66 matches, the team completed fifty wins to touch the 200-win mark. Since 2025, the Men in Blue have continued to dominate the shortest format of the game. In 2025, they won the Asia Cup; in the following year, they got the T20 World Cup title. In the meantime, the team went through a transition phase, which did not harm the momentum of the team in this particular format.
India became the first team to register 200 wins in T20 Internationals (including Super Over wins):
1st win: vs South Africa, Johannesburg, 2006 (6 wickets)
50th win: vs Sri Lanka, Colombo RPS, 2017 (7 wickets)
100th win: vs West Indies, Kolkata, 2022 (8 runs)
150th win: vs Australia, Gros Islet, 2024 (24 runs)
200th win: vs Japan, Sano, 2026 (2 runs)
Wins 1-50: 83 matches
Wins 51-100: 72 matches
Wins 101-150: 70 matches
Wins 151-200: 66 matches
