LONDON: Pakistan narrowly lost the first Test of the ICC World Test Championship series at Old Trafford against England on Saturday by three wickets to concede a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
The narrow defeat brought back memories of some instances Pakistan suffered in the longest format of the game.
1. Against Australia, SCG, 1973 – Lost by 52 runs
Eyeing their first ever Test win in Australia, Pakistan succumbed under fifth day pressure despite dominating the match for four days. Mushtaq Mohammad’s 121 earned Pakistan a 26 runs first innings lead after which Saleem Altaf and Sarfaraz Nawaz took four wickets apiece to bowl out Australia for 184.
2. Against West Indies, Barbados, 1988 – Lost by two wickets
Arguably the most competitive series Pakistan played in and one of the best in Test cricket’s 143 years long history, Imran Khan-led Pakistan reduced West Indies to 207 for eight in chase of 266 in the third and final Test of the series.
3. Against South Africa, Faisalabad, 1997 – Lost by 53 runs
What could have been Pakistan’s first Test and series win against South Africa, ended in disappointment for the home team as they went all out from 23 for no loss to 92 all out chasing a small target of 146 runs.
4. Against Australia, Hobart, 1999 – Lost by four wickets
Scaling a target of 369 runs is one thing, doing it against a formidable bowling unit comprising of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq is another. Australia did that on the back of a 238 runs partnership between Justin Langer (127) and Adam Gilchrist (149 not out).
5. Against West Indies, Antigua, 2000 – Lost by one wicket
Twelve years after Barbados, Pakistan had another opportunity to win a Test series in the Caribbean but Jimmy Adams had different plans. He scored an unbeaten 48 runs and stitched a 19 runs partnership for the last wicket with Courtney Walsh to win the game and the series for West Indies.
6. Against England, Karachi, 2000 – Lost by six wickets
For 45 years and 34 matches, Pakistan had remained undefeated at National Stadium Karachi. Their stronghold was finally breached when a spirited England team led by Nasser Hussain managed to chase 176 in sheer darkness.
7. Against Australia, Sydney, 2010 – Lost by 36 runs
After dominating the game for three days, Pakistan let the game slip on the fourth day, which also happened to be the last, when Mike Hussey (134 not out) and Peter Siddle (38) added 123 runs for ninth wicket. The target of 176 was still chaseable but Pakistan batting collapsed from 34 for no loss to 139 all out.
8. Against Sri Lanka, Abu Dhabi, 2017 – Lost by 21 runs
Pakistan hit a new low when they were bowled out for 114 in a chase of 136, the lowest target they have failed to chase in Test cricket. The batting collapse was sparked by Rangana Herath who took 11 wickets in the match, including six in the last innings.
9. Against New Zealand, Abu Dhabi, 2018 – Lost by four runs
It’s not every day you see teams losing by four runs in Test cricket. Only five times in the history have teams fallen short by four or fewer runs. Pakistan were at the receiving end of this unwanted record as New Zealand restricted them to 171 eying a target of 176.
10. Against England, Manchester, 2020 – Lost by three wickets
Pakistan bowlers not defending targets is a rare sight in Test cricket. No team before this game had scaled 250plus runs against Pakistan bowlers in this century so it needed a spectacular effort after they set England 277 to win.
