Pakistan's biggest Test wins
Pakistan's recent overwhelming victory against New Zealand by a massive margin of an innings and 324 runs was their biggest in Test cricket to date
Arshad Chughtai
26-Jul-2002
Pakistan's recent overwhelming victory against New Zealand by a massive margin of an innings and 324 runs was their biggest in Test cricket to date. So far, out of 285 test matches played by Pakistan they have won 85 - 45 of these victories have been at home, 35 away and three on neutral grounds of Dhaka (1) and Sharjah (2). Tracing the history of Pakistan's test cricket victories it is worth highlighting that their first victory was in the very second test match they appeared in, against India, in their inaugural test series, in 1952-53, by an innings and 24 runs. How this victory margin has improved further in 50 years is presented below:
| Margin of Victory | V/S | Venue | Year | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Innings & 43 runs | India | Lucknow | 1952-53 | A.H. Kardar |
| Innings & 64 runs | New Zealand | Rawalpindi | 1964-65 | Hanif Mohammad |
| Innings & 166 runs | New Zealand | Dunedin | 1972-73 | Intikhab Alam |
| Innings & 188 runs | Australia | Karachi | 1988-89 | Javed Miandad |
| Innings & 264 runs | Bangladesh | Multan | 2001-02 | Waqar Younis |
| Innings & 324 runs | New Zealand | Lahore | 2001-02 | Waqar Younis |
The win against New Zealand was also the fourth biggest in Test cricket history so far. England, however, hold the record of achieving the biggest victory in Tests by an innings and 579 runs against Australia at the Oval in 1938.
Pakistan also has a good share in Test cricket's biggest victories. Eight of Pakistan's 27 innings victories have been with a margin of innings plus 150 runs or more. Also six others have been by wide margins of 204 to 301 runs. Pakistan's recent victory at Lahore was also the biggest at home in a Test match. Their largest victory in away tests was when they beat Bangladesh by an innings and 178 runs in the first test of 2001-02 series at Dhaka.
Below is a list of largest Test victories for Pakistan from 1952 to date:
Largest Victories: 1952 - 53 To Date
| Innings & 324 runs | V | New Zealand, Lahore: 2001-02 |
| Innings & 264 runs | V | Bangladesh, Multan: 2001-02 |
| Innings & 188 runs | V | Australia, Karachi: 1988-89 |
| Innings & 178 runs | V | Bangladesh, Dhaka: 2001-02 |
| Innings & 175 runs | V | Sri Lanka, Dhaka: 1998-99 |
| Innings & 169 runs | V | Bangladesh, Chittagong: 2001-02 |
| Innings & 166 runs | V | New Zealand, Dunedin: 1972-73 |
| Innings & 163 runs | V | Sri Lanka, Galle: 2001 |
| Innings & 119 runs | V | India, Hyderabad: 1982-83 |
| Innings & 102 runs | V | Sri Lanka, Lahore: 1981-82 |
| Innings & 87 runs | V | England, Lahore: 1987-88 |
| Innings & 86 runs | V | India, Karachi: 1982-83 |
| Innings & 82 runs | V | Australia, Melbourne: 1982-83 |
| Innings & 64 runs | V | New Zealand, Rawalpindi: 1964-65 |
| Innings & 52 runs | V | Sri Lanka, Kandy: 1994 |
| Innings & 43 runs | V | India, Lucknow: 1952-53 |
| Innings & 43 runs | V | New Zealand, Karachi: 1990-91 |
| Innings & 40 runs | V | Sri Lanka, Peshawar: 1995-96 |
| Innings & 29 runs | V | West Indies, Rawalpindi: 1997 |
| Innings & 20 runs | V | Sri Lanka, Kandy: 1985-86 |
| Innings & 19 runs | V | West Indies, Peshawar: 1997 |
| Innings & 18 runs | V | England, Leeds: 1997 |
| Innings & 13 runs | V | New Zealand, Rwalpindi: 1996-97 |
| Innings & 12 runs | V | New Zealand, Wellington: 1994-95 |
| Innings & 3 runs | V | Australia, Faisalabad: 1982-83 |
| Innings & 1 run | V | New Zealand, Karachi: 1955-56 |
| Innings & 1 runs | V | West Indies, Port of Spain: 1957-58 |
| 301 runs | V | Sri Lanka, Colombo: 1994 |
| 299 runs | V | New Zealand, Auckland: 2000-2001 |
| 266 runs | V | West Indies, Port of Spain: 1976-77 |
| 244 runs | V | West Indies, Sharjah: 2001-02 |
| 222 runs | V | Sri Lanka, Colombo: 1999-2000 |
| 204 runs | V | Sri Lanka, Karachi: 1981-82 |