India, Sept. 22 -- Legend has it that on June 25, 1863, when the first-ever documented cricket match was held on Japanese soil in the city of Yokohama, it was a ploy by local merchants to save themselves from an anticipated samurai attack.

They had sought help from the British merchant and Royal Navy sailors under the guise of a cricket match in which the fleet team played with "arms handy". The anticipated attack never took place but the match was duly completed, according to the archives of the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club that was founded in 1868. On September 22, 2026, when the Japanese national men's cricket team takes on India, the complete mismatch between the competing nations would be hidden under the veneer of diplomacy a...