Pakistan's spin- heavy strategy in T20 World Cup: Spinners bowl 16 out of 20 overs

Colombo (The Uttam Hindu) : A match was played between Pakistan and the USA in Colombo on Tuesday in the T20 World Cup 2026. Pakistan won the match by 32 runs. Their spinners played a key role in Pakistan's victory. Spinners bowled 80 percent of the balls in the innings.

When the USA innings began, it was expected that Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha would bowl a few overs with his fast bowlers, but Agha didn't go with any of the fast bowlers except Shaheen Afridi. Shaheen bowled four of the 20 overs. The Pakistan captain bowled the remaining 16 overs with spinners, which resulted in a win.

Pakistan's spinners, Saim Ayub (1), Abrar Ahmed (4), Mohammad Nawaz (3), Shadab Khan (4), and Usman Tariq (4) bowled a total of 16 overs. The team also included fast bowler Faheem Ashraf, but he was not given the ball. Usman Tariq (3), Shadab Khan (2), and Abrar and Nawaz (1) each took three wickets to give Pakistan a victory against the USA.

This was the second time in T20 cricket that Pakistan had spinners bowl the most overs (16). The previous highest was against Australia in Colombo in 2012, where they had spinners bowl 18 of their 20 overs.

Apart from this, 15 overs were bowled by Pakistani spinners against South Africa in Colombo in 2012, 15 overs against West Indies in Kingston in 2013, 15 overs against England in Manchester in 2021 and 15 overs against Afghanistan in Hangzhou in 2023.

In the Pakistan-USA match, Pakistan lost the toss and elected to bat first, scoring 190 for 9. USA managed only 158 for 8 in 20 overs, losing the match by 32 runs.