India defend 32 against Japan in a five-over match: lowest total ever defended in T20

India beat Japan by two runs in a T20I at Sano on Tuesday that rain had cut to five overs a side. India made 32 for 4. Japan finished on 30 for 3. It is the lowest total ever defended in T20 cricket.

What happened in the last over

Japan needed eight off four balls. Left-hander Alexander Shirai-Patmore went for a reverse-hit off Axar Patel, missed, and the ball went past where his leg side would have been in a normal stance. The striker's end umpire, Chris Thurgate of Japan, called wide. Next ball, same shot, same call.

India protested. The square-leg umpire, Chris Brown of New Zealand and a member of the ICC Elite Panel, stepped in and asked Thurgate to reverse the second call. The equation went back to seven off three, and Japan fell two short.

Why the reversal was correct

The ICC's guidance to umpires is in the manual every official gets. If a batter attempts a reverse-hit or a switch-hit, both sides of the wicket are treated as off side for the purpose of judging a wide, so the ball has to be 75cm outside the outer stump to be called.

Two details people argued about on the night do not change it. It does not matter whether the batter changed grip (switch-hit) or kept it (reverse-hit): the guidance covers both. And it does not matter that the batter moved after the ball was released, because the guidance says the timing of the move makes no difference to the advantage gained.

There was no TV umpire and no DRS at Sano, so there was no review to call for. The on-field umpires sorted it between themselves, which is what the playing conditions allow.

Why it was 32 all the way

The pitch was what Shreyas Iyer called very difficult to bat on, a sticky dog: a surface with moisture in it that then gets sun. In five overs on that, 32 was a total. Japan captain Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming said emotions were running high afterwards, which is fair for a side that came within two runs of the biggest result in its cricket history.

For Pakistani readers the relevance is short and sharp: the wide rule that decided this match is the same one used in the PSL and in Pakistan's internationals, and it is the one most club umpires get wrong. If the batter reverses or switches, both sides are off side.