India T20I captain Shreyas Iyer had nothing but praise for Japan after the hosts gave his side a mighty scare in a five-over shootout in Sano. Speaking after India scraped home by two runs, Iyer called Japan's approach "impeccable" and "outstanding."

"The attitude and approach the Japanese team showed today was impeccable and kudos to them," Iyer said. "Their approach was outstanding. So I'm sure that they are on the right track right now and they've got a couple more matches against Afghanistan and Nepal [at the Asian Games]; they would be brilliant."

On a tricky surface that turned square almost from the first ball, Japan restricted India to 32 for 4 after a wet outfield reduced the only T20I of the tour to a five-overs-a-side contest. Japan gave the target a real shot but could only manage 30 for 3, with all ten overs bowled by spinners.

"Well, it was turning square, and honestly speaking, it was a very difficult wicket to bat on," Iyer said. "We saw the openers as well, who are used to scoring runs consistently, not able to gauge the pace of the spin."

Iyer was the only Indian batter to reach double digits, scoring 16 off 12, while the top order fell apart against spin. Abhishek Sharma departed for a first-ball duck, Sanju Samson made 9, Ishan Kishan scored 3, and Tilak Varma finished on 1*. India managed just two fours in five overs and no sixes, with Japan also hitting only two fours. In the end, Iyer's 16 proved to be the difference.

"I decided when I got in that it's important that I need to take singles and doubles and rotate the strike as much as possible," said Iyer, who was also named player of the match. "I also interacted with the batsman who came in with me, but it was difficult to do that as well.

"But honestly speaking, I just decided that I would be playing on the merit of the ball and plan accordingly. If the ball is turning and rolling a bit, I'll just use the pace of the ball and hold myself at the back and see to it that I match for singles and doubles. So that worked out pretty well.

"You see, I always keep saying that five-over game, it can go anywhere. It doesn't matter how good a team you are, because the opposition is also competitive."

Iyer hasn't had the smoothest run in his short captaincy career, losing T20I series on the road against Ireland and England before notching wins against Zimbabwe and Afghanistan. He will next lead the side at the Asian Games, with India's matches set to begin on September 28 in Nisshin. While Iyer made it clear that India wants another gold medal, he wants to take it "one step at a time."

"It's a pleasure to be leading the Indian team," he said. "With the performances you've seen in the past, winning so many trophies, it's a great responsibility. But with responsibility comes pressure, and I feel that I thrive under pressure. So it's a great role for me, and I always feel that the captaincy is something that gets the best out of me. So always loving to explore this.

"It was a long travel for us to Sano; it took us three hours to reach here, but at the back of our minds, we had only one thing: we wanted to play the game, excite the crowd who has come to see the game, and the supporters who've been striving to see to it that this match was organised.

"Even though it was five overs, I personally feel that at least we got a game to see and to honestly experience such a great performance from the Japanese team and also Indian players as well. So yeah, overall, I feel it was an exciting game, and yeah, honestly, they were also brilliant with their performances."