The Test Rivalry between the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team and the Pakistan National Cricket Team is one of the oldest and most respected contests in international cricket. The two Asian cricketing nations have a long and infamous history since their first appearance in the early 1980s featuring several classic Test matches, nail-biting One-Day Internationals (ODIs), intense T20 clashes and many high-profile encounters in ICC events.
While almost all conversation on India-Pakistan matches cover front page copy, there has been no shortage of exciting cricket and individual brilliance in the Sri Lanka-Pakistan rivalry. The timeline shines light on all the major events of their cricketing history, ranging from Pakistan’s domination in the initial years to Sri Lanka’s rise and establishment as a world cricket behemoth.
1982: The First Official Encounter
Sri Lanka became a Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1981 and played its inaugural Test match in 1982.
This was the first time a big side took on Sri Lanka in international cricket, with Pakistan being amongst the first Sri Lanka gained valuable international experience through bilateral series against the two nations, who they faced in both Test and ODI formats during the early 1980s.
A stronger and more seasoned Pakistan side dominated plenty of these early fixtures.
Read more: India National Cricket Team vs England Cricket Team Timeline
Late 1980s: Pakistan Establishes Dominance
Pakistan had become one of the world’s best cricket teams by the late 1980s.
Pakistan, spearheaded by Imran Khan and stars like Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram and Abdul Qadir challenged all the top sides in the world with great consistency.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, were still building up their relations with international cricket. The results were often unsatisfying and wins were hard to come by in these games however the side got an exposure of playing against professionals from Pakistan
1992 Cricket World Cup
One of the defining moments in this rivalry came during the 1992 Cricket World Cup, held in Australia and New Zealand.
The tournament was later won by Pakistan under Imran Khan’s leadership, beating England in the final.
Sri Lanka developed during this time period, and began to become competitive in international cricket.
Sri Lanka rise to glory in 1996 Cricket World Cup
That was a turning point for Sri Lankan cricket in the World Cup 1996.
Sri Lanka’s first World Cup title came in 1996, led by Arjuna Ranatunga and bolstered by stars like Sanath Jayasuriya, Aravinda de Silva, and Muttiah Muralitharan.
It may be well worth noting that the Sri Lankans established themselves as a major player in world cricket and heightened competition in the rivalry even though Pakistan entered said tournament as back-to-back champions.
Late 1990s: Closely Contested Series
In the wake of Sri Lanka’s World Cup victory, contests between the two countries began to narrow down.
While Pakistan banked on the likes of Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwar, and Wasim Akram; Sri Lanka formed a potent batting line-up including Jayasuriya, Muralitharan combined with Marvan Atapattu and Chaminda Vaas.
These years also saw a number of hard-fought contests across all formats in bilateral series.
2000 – 2005: Classic Test And ODI Clashes
There were many memorable matches between the two sides in the 2000s.
Muralitharan’s Dominance
Of course, the genius of Muttiah Muralitharan did suffer from his own confounding off-spin problem all too often against Pakistan. His contributions to the team during that point in Test cricket were invaluable for Sri Lanka.
Pakistan’s Batting Strength
An average of 1–0 in favour of either side meant that each series was competitive with Pakistan responding to India’s scorecard through strong showings from Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf.
Wins were traded back-and-forth in bilateral competition, with neither team holding their own with authority.
2009: Lahore Terror Attack
March 3, 2009 – The day when one of the biggest incidents in cricket history happened.
Terrorists shot at the Sri Lankan team bus en route to a Test match near Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
Several Sri Lankan players and officials were injured, but thankfully no player was fatally injured.
The assault, which had a serious effect on international cricket, resulted in many of the game’s leading teams’ stalling their tours to Pakistan for years.
In spite of the tragedy, relations between the two cricket boards were as good as ever.
2011 Cricket World Cup
India and South Africa last clashed at the group stages of 2011 Cricket World Cup.
Pakistan won and remained strong in the tournament. Sri Lanka also had a good run before losing in the final to India.
It showed how little separated both teams from being a world level side.
2012 ICC World Twenty20 Final
An important point in the rivalry between South Africa has occurred — ICC World Twenty20 Final, Colombo
Both finalists got off to a solid start in the tournament with Sri Lanka winning its first three games and Pakistan four of their five group matches.
Batting first, Pakistan scored 139/4. Sri Lanka achieved the target with eight wickets to spare, due in no small way to Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.
With this win Sri Lanka clinched their maiden ICC World Twenty20 title.
2014 Asia Cup Final
We saw yet another famous chapter of the rivalry play out during the 2014 Asia Cup Final, when in Bangladesh.
Fawad Alam century led Pakistan to 260 runs
Lahiru Thirimanne scored a brilliant century and Sri Lanka successfully chased the target.
Sri Lanka won the tournament for a record fifth time.
2015-2017: Pakistan Rebuilds
With the retirement of a few Sri Lankan legends, Pakistan started to get the upperhand in bilateral battles.
Amongst the players Misbah-ul-Haq, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Yasir Shah And Azhar Ali were power catalysts towards victory for Pakistan.
I think Sri Lanka suddenly went into root cause analysis, new dawns and realised that Jayawardene and Sangakkara left a lethal threat to their white ball cricket team along with Dilshan.
2017: Sri Lanka returns to Pakistan
The rivalry produced one of its most poignant moments in 2017.
Sri Lanka nailed down a T20 International in Lahore, becoming one of the first major international outfits to tour Pakistan since the 2009 assault.
The move was universally hailed and fast-tracked the process of international cricket returning to Pakistan.
The game held great symbolic significance for both countries.
2019-2022: New Generation of Stars
During this time, a new wave of players were born.
Sri Lanka
- Kusal Mendis
- Pathum Nissanka
- Wanindu Hasaranga
- Dasun Shanaka
Pakistan
- Babar Azam
- Mohammad Rizwan
- Shaheen Shah Afridi
- Fakhar Zaman
This meant the matches between both sides remained hotly contested affairs.
2022 Asia Cup Final
One of the last prominent skirmishes came at the 2022 Asia Cup Final in Dubai.
Pakistan were favourites to win the final after ending up as the form side of the tournament.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka delivered a brilliant performance. Sri Lanka had made 122 for 8, and Pakistan had a target of 130 to chase down chasing in the misery that is our lead up to the World Cup. A Bhanuka Rajapaksa scored really important runs and their bowlers bowled decently well against Pakistan.
Sri Lanka closed out by 23 runs and won the sixth Asia Cup.
The win was one of Sri Lankan cricket#s biggest success stories in recent years.
Head-to-Head Record and Legacy
Through the years, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have had a close-run rivalry over Tests, ODIs and T20Is.
Sri Lanka has won some of the memorable victories winning ICC tournaments as well as Asia Cup but Pakistan had a better track record in Test cricket.
Both the teams have consistently been churning out world-class cricketers as well being instrumental in popularising the game across Asia.
Conclusion
The timeline of the Sri Lanka national cricket team vs Pakistan national cricket team is one that has so many historic matches and some unforgettable performances where each step of its way helped global cricket in various ways. Pakistan’s early days of domination, Sri Lanka’s ascent to World Cup success, the emotional return of cricket in Pakistan and sensational Asia Cup clashes have given fans many a memory.
With no signs of that slamming down any time soon as new stars keep emerging both sides, the Sri Lanka-Pakistan contention stays one of revered and most serious experiences in world cricket. More interesting chapters in this engrossing cricket book are guaranteed from upcoming series and ICC tournaments.
