After India beat Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, former spinner Ravichandran Ashwin joked that India had enough runs on the board to force a follow-on against Pakistan on a tricky pitch in Colombo.
India scored 174 runs at the R Premadasa Stadium where the ball gripped and turned, making life difficult for the batsmen. Chasing 175, Pakistan crumbled early, losing four wickets in the powerplay.
With their backs broken at the start of the innings, the team never really recovered and were bowled out for just 114 runs in 18 overs. This marked another encounter where Pakistan were dominated by a technically superior Indian side.
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Reacting to the result on his YouTube channel, Ashwin quipped that Pakistan’s batsmen were not equipped to chase down the target on the Premadasa pitch. He taunted the opposition and said that if India wanted to, it could push for a continuation with this total in the board.
“174 runs on this ground – they would follow Pakistan. No, really. If we get 20 more runs, we could follow them here,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel while chatting with journalist Vimal Kumar.
Pakistan have not been able to adapt to the nature of the pitch in Colombo despite being in the city since the start of the tournament. They are currently third in the Group A table. If they lose their final group stage match against Namibia, they are likely to be eliminated from the tournament.
Pakistan play their last match of the group stage on February 18.
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Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
February 16, 2026