When Did Pakistan Win A Test Match For The Last Time?

Pakistan cricket team has lost six Tests in succession [Source: @TheRealPCB/x]Pakistan cricket team has lost six Tests in succession [Source: @TheRealPCB/x]

The Pakistan cricket team crashed to an embarrassing innings defeat of 47 runs against England at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Despite amassing a formidable 556 in their first innings, Shan Masood’s men earned the unwanted distinction of becoming the first team in history to lose a Test by an innings after surpassing the 500-run mark.

This crushing loss has further compounded Pakistan’s misery in Test cricket, considering it occurred on the heels of a 0-2 drubbing by Bangladesh on home soil in September, just at the time when the ‘Men in Green’ faithful were beginning to shake off the sting of that debacle.

As Pakistan aims to restore its lost glory in the game’s purest format, here we take a look at the time when the ‘Shaheens’ last recorded a Test win.

When did Pakistan last won a Test match?

Pakistan won consecutive Tests in Sri Lanka back in July 2023, i.e., more than year ago, to seal their two-match series by a 2-0 margin. The second Test of the series, hosted by the Singhalese Sports Club in Colombo, witnessed Babar Azam and co. sealing the honors by an innings and 222 runs.

Young opener Abdullah Shafique smacked a marathon double ton to play starring role with the bat alongside fellow centurion Agha Salman. Shan Masood, Saud Shakeel and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan also clubbed blistering half-centuries to fuel Pakistan’s 576-5 before captain Babar called for an early declaration with a lead of 410 runs.

Pakistan bowlers Abrar Ahmed, Naseem Shah and Noman Ali skittled the Sri Lankans for dismal scores of 166 and 188 across both innings as the visitors romped home to a clinical victory.

Interestingly, Pakistan’s last Test win was also preceded by a year-long drought, considering they incurred four successive defeats and two draws between July 2022 and January 2023 before finding their feat against Sri Lanka in July 2023. It was during a similar two-match tour of Sri Lanka back in July 2022 when Pakistan managed to sneak a four-wicket win at Galle.

When did Pakistan last won a Test match at home?

By the time of writing, it has been more than three years and eight months since Pakistan last won a Test match at home. Back in January and February 2021, a Babar Azam-led team secured successive wins over a visiting South African bunch in Karachi and Rawalpindi to seal a 2-0 series win.

Since then, the Pakistan cricket team has gone past 11 Tests spanning five* different series without recording a single win. Their winless streak began with a 0-1 defeat to Australia in March 2022, and continued with a 0-3 larruping at the hands of England in December later that same year.

A couple of weeks later, Pakistan failed to defeat New Zealand during their drawn series, and recently succumbed to a new low by losing to Bangladesh at home.

Going ahead, captain Shan Masood and his troops will be aiming to end Pakistan’s unwanted drought in a bid to reboot their dismal Test campaign as they prepare for their upcoming WTC challenges.