‘Pakan lost the game when they opted to bowl first’: R Ashwin reacts to India’s 61-run win in T20 World Cup clash | Cricket News

3 min readFeb 16, 2026 01:57 PM Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin delivered a blunt assessment of Pakan’s defeat to India in the T20 World Cup 2026, suggesting the match was effectively decided at the toss.
Reacting to India’s commanding 61-run win in Colombo, Ashwin said Pakan’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss proved to be the turning point.
“Where did they win to lose the plot? Pakan lost the game when they opted to bowl first after winning the toss because we saw the match between Australia and Zimbabwe. Australia struggled to get 170. When we see IPL matches, teams win easily if they need 100 runs off the last 10 overs. But it’s not happening in this World Cup. In Premadasa Stadium, you can’t chase 100 in ten overs. The way Pakan deals with pressure, India are 100 times better in that aspect. I don’t think Pakan are there. Honestly, Pakan have become tactically better under Salman Agha and Mike Hesson. But the way they brought Shaheen Afridi after Agha’s first over was a terrible make,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel “Ash ki Baat”.
ALSO READ | ‘Ishan Kishan took the game away’: Pakan head coach Mike Hesson defends bowl first decision against India
The 39-year-old was critical of Pakan captain Salman Ali Agha bringing in Shaheen Afridi in the second over, adding that Saim Ayub should have taken the new ball from the other end.
“You took Abhishek Sharma’s wicket, and he is leaking runs left, right and centre. We noted in the preview how dangerous Ishan Kishan is against left-arm seam. I feel cricketers need to be explained, ‘This is your match-up’. Data tells the truth. When you say Ishan is taking on left-arm seam, he is taking it on. I’m not saying don’t bowl left-arm seam to him, but they must do something different. If Shaheen was getting whacked, I would’ve loved to see him come round the wicket to the left-hander. He didn’t do it and the second over should have been Saim Ayub”.
“The fast bowler released the pressure. India were 159 after 19 overs, and Afridi was brought again, and he leaked runs again. Afridi gave away 16 runs in the final over,” he added.
Story continues below this ad
India will end their league phase taking on Netherlands in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.