The heavy rain from Typhoon Dujuan has posed an enormous risk to the historic India vs Japan T20I with the crucial preparations in Sano being snarled under the lashing downpour metres away from the date of the match.
The one-off match will begin at 1pm on Tuesday, September 22 at the Sano International Cricket Ground in the city of Tochigi Prefecture. Persistent rain has led to questions about the playing surface, although the worst is likely to be over before the fixture.
India did not get a chance to hold their scheduled training on Monday due to unfavourable weather conditions. This setback has come at a politically incorrect time for the Shreyas Iyer-led Indian side, which has not played an international match at the Sano stadium.
Iyer also admitted India were not fully aware about the surface’s response and how it will play out, which is extra important for their upcoming assignment. The match will be India’s first-ever T20I against Japan.
But there has recently been evidence to suggest that the venue was weathered. Rain forced a cancellation of the second match between Japan and Hong Kong, China at the same ground on September 20 as there was no toss. On 19 September the first match-day had been played at Sano, while the second was not able to get on the field.
Heavy rain and high velocity wind gusts have been reported in some parts of Japan, while warnings for flooding or landfalls have been issued in the affected regions due to Typhoon Dujuan.
In a historic matchup ahead of the Asian Games, India and Japan are expected to come up with something big, which will be closely watched by both the teams, weather gods and the ground crew in Sano.