On this day in 1961: England’s first-ever win in Pakistan

England registered a hard-fought 4-3 T20I series win in a seven-match bilateral series played in Pakistan last month. It is to be noted that the Three Lions had visited Pakistan after a long wait of 17 years since cricketing activities were stopped in that country for a decade after a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March 2009.

However, England had registered their maiden win on Pakistan soil over six decades ago and it was on this very day (26th OCT) in 1961 that they succeeded in getting the job done.

When England registered their maiden victory on Pakistan soil

Both teams had locked horns in the first Test match at the Lahore Stadium. The coin landed in the favor of the home captain Imtiaz Ahmed and he elected to bat first. The decision was indeed spot on as they posted a mammoth 387/9 courtesy of an excellent 138 from Javed Burki before declaring their innings.

Even though England had their task cut out in their first innings, they showcased outstanding performances with the bat and scored 380 in reply courtesy of a fighting 139 from Ken Barrington.

The Pakistanis looked to make the most of their small lead by making amends in the second innings, however, they could not achieve much success and were bundled out for 200, setting up a 208-run target for the visitors. Only Afaq Hussain scored an unbeaten 35. Alan Brown, David Allen, and Bob Barber picked up three wickets apiece for England.

A 208-run target in those days was not a cakewalk by any standards especially if the opposition had a lethal bowling attack. The Pakistani bowlers tried their level best to bundle out the England batters. Still, to no avail, as skipper Ted Dexter’s unbeaten 66 and a supporting 39 not out from Bob Barber helped the Britishers in getting over the line by five wickets.  The next two matches at Dacca and Karachi ended in a draw as England came out victorious in the three-match series 1-0.