PakPassion - Pakistan Cricket Forum - W78 : Pakistan win 100 tests but which was the greatest win

W78 : Pakistan win 100 tests but which was the greatest win

By cornered paktiger

This landmark got me thinking about Pakistan's great wins over the years. Wanted to post the top ten but there were so many I couldn't leave out so made it 20 - so which of these do folks think was the greatest win or maybe its one not in this post?

Among the criteria I've used is the strength of the opposition and the significance of the win. Thus many of the routs we've inflicted on New Zealand and Sri Lanka are not included (or even the win against Bangladesh in Multan in 2003) though some of them included stirring comebacks.

1. India in Lucknow 1952. Only Pak's 2nd test - other teams took years to register their first win and this to on an away series and so soon after partition. Pak were 1-0 down in the series but Fazal Mahmood proved that he would take the mantle of Pak's first great fast bowler with 12 wickets in the match to propel Pakistan to an innings victory. Nazar Muhammed also featured by carrying his bat for a century (his son Muddasar would later feature in the 70s and the 80s). Unfortunately Pak still lost the series 2-1 but this performance put them on the cricketing map.

2. England at the Oval 1954. Pak were expected to be easy meat in their first series in England against one of the great England teams boasting the likes of May, Compton, Graveney, Statham and Tyson. In a wet summer Pak entered the final test 1-0 down. A tight and low scoring test ended in a 24 run victory with Fazal running amok and picking up 12 wickets as England failed to reach the target of 168.

3. Australia at the SCG 1976. The 60s and the early 70s were dismal times for Pakistan. By contrast Aus had thrashed England and the West Indies in their previous home series so Pakistan were not expected to provide much opposition. However Asif Iqbal set up a first innings lead with a century and Imran announced himself as a great fast bowler by taking 12 wickets to help Pak level the series. It proved to be no fluke as soon after Pak narrowly lost 2-1 in the West Indies in a thrilling series.

4. India at Lahore 1978. Previous Pak/Ind encounters had been dismal affairs with both sides too scared to lose. This was the first home series televised live and it enthralled the nation and popularised a game which had previously been largely confined to the "elite". Zaheer got a double century and all the bowlers contributed with notable performances by Imran and Sarfraz. Left with 124 to score in just over 20 overs Pak got home in style to win by 8 wkts.

5. India in Karachi 1978. The next match was almost a replica. Gavaskar got two tons but the rest of the Indian batting failed to cope with Imran and Sarfraz who picked up 15 wickets between them. Needed 164 in around 25 overs but Imran and Javed (who also scored his first ton v India in the first innings) in their first great partnership got Pak home easily in the end showing the nous that would one day lead to a World Cup win.

6. Australia in Melbourne 1979. Majid had given Pakistan the edge with a fine century to set Australia an imposing 384 to win. Australia were cruising at 305/2. Enter the sometimes controversial figure of Sarfraz. In one the most amazing spells ever took 7 wickets for 1 run and ended up with 9 wickets in the innings (the other wicket fell to a run out) and 11 in the match. The series was drawn 1-1.

7. England at Lords 1982. Pak's first win at the home of cricket. Set up with a double century by Mohsin Khan. Imran, Sarfraz and the new leg-spinning magician Qadir managed to force England to follow-on. In the 2nd Inns the bowling was depleted by injuries but the man with the golden arm Muddasar snaffled 6 wickets. The excitement was not over - Pak needed 76 in quick time in fading light - Mohsin and Miandad made sure it was not a problem knocking the target off in 13 overs and a famous 10 wicket win was secured.

8. India in Karachi 1982. Following a 3-0 whitewash of Australia at home, Pakistan continued to make giant strides and ended up winning 3-0 against the old enemy. Perhaps the finest win of the season was the Karachi test where Imran used the sea-breeze and the yet unknown art of reverse-swing to take 8-60 in the 2nd inns. He took 53 wickets in those 9 matches on bonehard pitches and was at his peak. Tragically they took their toll and he was out of action for several years.

9. West Indies in Faisalabad 1986. The start of a remarkable run and 3 series where Pak would go toe-to-toe against arguably the greatest team ever and ended up drawing each series 1-1. Gutsy batting featuring 66 valuable runs from Wasim at no 9 (who had earlier taken 6 wickets) and a last wicket partnership of 32 with Salim Malik batting with a broken arm against a fearsome attack set up a target of 240 for the Windies to chase. Mystery man Qadir whirled away to snatch 6 cheap wickets as the Windies inexplicably crashed to 53 all out!!! It was to set up the start of an exciting year in which Pakistan would complete their first away victories in India and England.

10. India in Bangalore 1987. The first 4 tests were tame draws. India buoyed by Qadir's ineffectiveness prepared or rather underprepared the pitch. Pakistan succumbed to 116 all out in the first inns. Qadir was not playing but the unsung heroes Tauseef Ahmed and Iqbal Qasim took 9 apiece to win a thriller by 16 runs. Only Gavaskar provided resistance with a century in his last test which nearly took India home.

11. England at Headingley 1987. The 1982 series had some great cricket but was marred by umpring controversies with Pakistan going down 2-1. This was another ill-tempered series but Pakistan won the series with Imran taking 10 wickets on the notorious Headingley pitch to lead Pakistan to an innings victory. Notable mentions also go to Salim Malik and Ijaz Ahmed with half centuries in difficult conditions. Pakistan only won 1-0 but highlighted their superiorty in the last test at the Oval by scoring 708 and forcing England to follow-on.

12. West Indies at Guyana 1988. The second in the trilogy of closely fought series between the best two teams of the time saw Pak take an early lead with a 10 wicket win. Imran took 10 wickets and Miandad scored a century to confound his critics who noted he'd never scored a century against the mighty Windies. Only controversial umpiring decisions allowed the West Indies to avoid a 3-0 loss in possibly the most thrilling series of them all.

13. England at Lords 1992. Imran had retired (this time for good) but Pakistan were newly crowned world champions. Yet another fractitous series which Pakistan took 2-1 with Waqar and Wasim at their best ably supported by Mushy and Aaqib. Pakistan contolled this test and only needed 138 to win but at 95-8 it looked as though Pakistan had blown their chances. This time Wasim and Waqar came to the rescue with the bat taking Pakistan over the finishing line. But it was their mastery of the "newly discovered" art of reverse swing for which this series will always be remembered.

14. Australia in Karachi 1994. With the West Indies in decline the scene was set for either Pakistan or Australia to take their mantle. Wsim, Waqar and Mushy had kept the Aussie batting in check but needing 328 to win a closely contested affair it (along with Pak's proud record of never losing a test in Karachi) looked all over before Inzy and Mushy shared a last wicket stand of 58 to win a thriller. The winning runs came as Healy missed a stumping which went for four byes. The Pakistan team never matched the Aussies again and infighting and allegations of match-fixing saw Pakistan fail to fulfill their potential but at this moment it seemed as though Pakistan would sweep all before it.

15. India in Chennai 1999. Almost a replica of the 86 Bangalore test. The young Shahid Afridi had put Pakistan on top with an exciting 141. In 1987, it was Gavaskar, this time Tendulkar provided the rearguard which nearly took India home but Saqlain's mixture of orthodox off-spin and the new weapon of doosras got him 10 wickets and took Pakistan to victory by a narrow margin of 12 runs.

16. India in Kolkota 1999. India had come back strongly in Delhi with Kumble taking all ten wickets in the 2nd inns to win the test. Pak got to an awful start on a seaming track in the decisive test and were looking down the barrell at 26-6. A fine knock by Moin kept Pakistan in the match and India only had a slender advantage in the 1st inns due to Pak's new fast bowling sensation Shoaib Akhtar. Saeed Anwar then carried his bat for an undefeated 188 and India folded in their chase to give Pak a win by 45 runs. The closing stages were played behind closed doors as the Indian fans started rioting. Not many players will take 13 wickets in a test and finish on the losing side but this fate befell on Srinath.

17. England in Old Trafford 2001. Inzy had earlier given a batting masterclass but Vaughan and Thorpe also notched up centuries. All results were possible going into the last day but England decided to play for the draw and with Pak needing 9 wickets in the last two sessions the draw was the favourite. Wasim and Waqar provided one last hurrah to start the rot before Saqlain weaved magic with his doosras (helped by David Shepherd not noticing no-balls) to level the series and keep Pakistan's proud record of not losing in England since 1982 intact.

18. India in Bangalore 2005. It was said to be Pakistan's weakest team ever. Akmal and Razzaq saved the first test but the 2nd was lost. Huge knocks by Younis and Inzy gave Pakistan a platform for victory and on the last day Kaneria and Afridi proved that India were not as great against quality leg-spin bowling as their fans had imagined as Pakistan romped to a 168 run victory.

19. England in Multan 2005. England had capped a fine run with an exciting Ashes win and were expected to run over an underestimated Pakistan. Indeed many in England saw this as a warm-up for the "much harder" tour of India. At first this analysis seemed correct with England taking a 153 run 1st inns lead and despite Salaman Butt's century England only needed 198 in the fourth innings. Shoaib proved his many doubters wrong with a mixture of fearsome pace and well disguised slower balls and Kaneria exposed England's traditional weakness against quality leg-spin to take Pak home by 22 runs. It proved no fluke as Pak outplayed England to take the series 2-0.

20. India in Karachi 2006. The first two tests were tame and large scoring draws. The Indians complained that they wanted a sporting wicket and with Pakistan reeling at 0-3 and then 39-6 they seemed vindicated. Akmal then played one of the finest knocks in Pak's history with a century ably supported by Razzaq and the tail. In the 2nd inns Pakistan's batting steamrolled the Indian bowling with the top seven all notching up half centuries to set India an impossible total of 605. Mohammed Asif showed that Pakistan had a new fast bowling sensation as India were forced to meekly surrender the match and the series.

Its a long post but hopefully an enjoyable one. So which one do you rate as Pak's greatest? For me its The Oval 1954 followed by Karachi 1994 and Guyana 1988. Perhaps it should become a poll once the favourites are narrowed down?