Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has said that he will pray for rain to wash out the high-octane T20 World Cup 2026 match between India and Pakistan in Colombo
on February 15.
Both India and Pakistan have not put a foot wrong in the tournament thus far, winning both the games they have played so far. That said, both teams have been put to the test by the lower-ranked sides, as USA thoroughly challenged India at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, reducing the hosts to 46 for 4 before Suryakumar Yadav’s 49-ball 84 saved the blushes. India eventually won the contest by 29 runs, but the powerplay collapse emerged as a concern.
Pakistan had a scare of their own against Netherlands in the tournament opener, when they slipped from 98 for 2 to 114 for 7 in a 148-run chase. That they crossed the line was thanks to Faheem Ashraf’s blinder, as he smacked 29 off merely 10 balls, riding on his luck after being dropped on 10 by Max O’Dowd. Pakistan scraped to a narrow three-wicket win.
India fared better in the second clash, against Namibia in Delhi, but endured two collapses at different stages of the game. Despite that, they managed 209 before the bowlers restricted Namibia to 116, handing India their biggest win by the margin of runs (93) in T20 World Cup history. Pakistan also had a more convincing time in the middle in their second game, as they got the better of USA by 29 runs.
The upcoming India-Pakistan clash was in limbo for an extended period after the Government of Pakistan announced that Pakistan would participate in the global event but will not take the field against India in the February 15 clash, which was an expression of solidarity with Bangladesh, who were removed from the tournament for their refusal to travel to India due to “security concerns”. The deadlock was eventually resolved as Pakistan withdrew the boycott following a slew of meetings between the ICC, PCB and BCB top brass.
Asked for his picks for the marquee clash, Basit said that he wants rain to play spoilsport so that both the teams could split the points.
“Meri toh dua hai Allah Ta’ala baarish kar de (My prayer is that Allah Ta’ala makes it rain.),” Ali said on A Sports.
Ali said that while he was not afraid of the result, he wanted the two teams to share the points. According to AccuWeather, Colombo's forecast on Sunday is “cloudy with a few showers,” and a 93% chance of rain.
“Pakistan bach gaya bhai! (Pakistan just about survived). When Shaheen Shah Afridi is called in to bat, you can imagine what Pakistan’s batting did in that game. Bad batsmanship by the middle order, especially Babar Azam, Nawaz and Shadab Khan. These are experienced players. They have played not just in leagues across the world, but also in the Pakistan Super League. Today, they did not become heroes for Pakistan; they ended up being zeroes,” Ali had said.
“Who is a match-changer in the Pakistan team? What are you going to say to a country’s fans who get happy when a wicket falls just because it means that Babar Azam will come to bat? But then Babar comes and goes. Today’s star for Pakistan was Faheem Ashraf, who came in at No 8. Baaki batsman chanafali bech rahe the kya? (Were the rest of the batters selling peanuts?)”
