Cricket

Japan vs India T20 Preview & Tips – India to cruise past Japan in one-off T20

By Ben Darvill

1 hour ago

Ben Darvill 1 hour ago

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India have won their last six matches in the shortest format
Abhishek Sharma is averaging 33.18 in the T20 game for India
Preview, stats & head to head

Abhishek Sharma of India (Getty Images)

Japan vs India T20 Preview & Tips
Head To Head
Japan Form
India Form

Japan vs India T20 Preview & Tips

Japan face one of the top sides in the men's game this week as they look to build some kind of momentum heading into the Asian Games.

India are looking to continue a run of six successive wins in the Twenty20 game as they eye glory in the upcoming Asian Games.

Abhishek Sharma has scored 82, 39 and 108 in his last three T20's for India

Head To Head

This will be the first time the two nations have met in a competitive Twenty20 clash.

Japan Form

Japan are in need of a kick-start in the Twenty20 game after a pair of defeats to Hong Kong saw their preparations for the Asian Games take a major blow.

Upcoming matches against Afghanistan and Nepal in the group-stage of the Asian Games will not be easy, with their opener particularly difficult. While they have the ability to beat Nepal, a losing run heading into a major tournament is never ideal. Indeed, their one-match losing run will likely become even worse when they take on the pre-tournament favourites this week.

While Japan will relish the opportunity to try to force one of the great upsets, they are impossibly outmatched, and I predict that they will have to enter the group-stage of the Asian Games without any kind of winning momentum.

India Form

Following on from a stunning 2-0 T20 series loss to Ireland and a 6-1 aggregate loss to England across the ODI and T20 games, India's current run of seven wins in eight across formats is impressive.

Focussing on the T20 format, India have won their last six, beating Zimbabwe and Afghanistan 3-0 in both series. While neither can claim to be at the top of the world when it comes to men's cricket, both have the tools to put pressure on the opposition. While India could have crumbled on the back of their poor run in the T20 game, they have shown real character to embark on a six-game winning run.

Abhishek Sharma has put a run of four consecutive single-figure scores in the T20 game behind him with a much-improved run of form against Afghanistan. Across their three matches, he scored 82, 39 and 108 as he plundered runs at will. His strike rate, which did not dip below 205.26 across the three matches, will see him as Japan's main threat as he looks to score quickly.

Sharma's exploits will be crucial across their Asian Games campaign as he looks to lead from the front. I back him to impress at the top of the order as he leads his side to a simple win.

Verdict

Japan v India T20

I am backing Sharma to continue his solid run of form in the T20 game as India notch a seventh consecutive win in the shortest format.

India

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Batter Milestones

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