Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Head to Head in Tests: Complete Record and Stats

Pakistan lead this famous old rivalry. In the Pakistan vs Sri Lanka head to head in Tests, the two teams have played 59 matches since 1982, and Pakistan hold the edge with 23 wins against 17 for Sri Lanka, with 19 matches drawn. Kumar Sangakkara scored more runs in this fixture than any other batter, and Rangana Herath took more wickets than any other bowler. The record stood still for more than three years after July 2023, and it moves again in November 2026, when Sri Lanka tour Pakistan for two World Test Championship matches. The full Test record follows below, and the one-day record between the two teams sits in the Pakistan vs Sri Lanka ODI head to head guide.

Sri Lanka arrive in Pakistan in November 2026 for a two-Test series that forms part of the World Test Championship, and the red-ball history between the teams is rich. Across 59 Tests, Pakistan lead with 23 wins to 17 for Sri Lanka, with 19 draws. The rivalry has produced some of the highest scores in Test history, including the 765 for 6 declared of Pakistan at Karachi in 2009, and the teams meet again at Rawalpindi and Lahore in November.

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Head to Head in Tests: The Full Record

Source: CricketAddictor

Pakistan and Sri Lanka have played 59 Tests, with Pakistan winning 23, Sri Lanka winning 17 and 19 ending in draws. The first Test came in 1982, when Pakistan won by 204 runs, and the contest has been a regular feature of the calendar ever since, particularly during the 1990s and 2000s when both teams were at their peak.

The rivalry carries deep historical weight. The tour of Sri Lanka to Pakistan in 2019 marked the return of Test cricket to Pakistan after a decade away, while the 2009 tour was cut short by the attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore, an event that changed the course of cricket in the country. The teams have met with mutual respect ever since.

On the field, Pakistan hold the edge, and the recent form favours the hosts: Pakistan won the last series 2-0 in Sri Lanka in 2023. The schedule for the 2026 series is covered in the series schedule article, and the ODI history of the teams is covered in the head-to-head records article.

Last Five Meetings

Source: The News International

Pakistan won the most recent Test between the sides by an innings and 222 runs at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo in July 2023. Sri Lanka made 166 and 188, and Pakistan replied with 576 for 5 declared, with 201 from Abdullah Shafique and an unbeaten 132 from Salman Agha, while Noman Ali took seven for 70. A week earlier at Galle, Pakistan had won by four wickets after a chase of 342, with Saud Shakeel scoring an unbeaten 208, to seal a 2-0 series victory.

The two sides drew 1-1 at Galle in July 2022. Pakistan won the first Test by four wickets after a chase of 342, the highest successful chase at the ground, and Sri Lanka won the second by 246 runs, with five for 117 from Prabath Jayasuriya.

The last Test in Pakistan, at Karachi in December 2019, ended in a 263-run win for the hosts and sealed a 1-0 series win that marked the return of Test cricket to Pakistan after ten years. Four Pakistan batters made second-innings hundreds: Abid Ali made 174, Shan Masood 135, Azhar Ali 118 and Babar Azam an unbeaten 100, and Naseem Shah took five for 31 in the second innings. Pakistan have now won four of the last five Tests between the teams.

Key Records and Top Performers

Source: Geo News

Kumar Sangakkara scored more runs in this fixture than any other batter, with 2,911 runs at an average of 74.64 and 10 hundreds. Younis Khan leads the Pakistan list with 2,286 runs at an average of 51.95 and 8 hundreds. The highest individual score in the fixture is the 313 of Younis Khan at Karachi in 2009, and the best score by a Sri Lanka batter is the 253 of Sanath Jayasuriya at Faisalabad in 2004. The famous 374 of Mahela Jayawardene came against South Africa, not Pakistan.

With the ball, Rangana Herath took 106 wickets against Pakistan, the most in the rivalry, ahead of Muttiah Muralitharan with 80 wickets in 16 Tests. The 66 wickets of Saeed Ajmal are the most by a Pakistan bowler against Sri Lanka. The highest team totals are the 765 for 6 declared of Pakistan and the 644 for 7 declared of Sri Lanka, both at Karachi in 2009.

At the other extreme, Pakistan were once bowled out for 90 at the P Sara Oval in Colombo in 2009, while the lowest total by Sri Lanka is 71 at Kandy in 1994. The 19 draws in 59 games show how often these teams have fought each other to a standstill.

Famous Series

The 2009 series in Pakistan produced one of the highest-scoring Tests ever played. At Karachi, Sri Lanka made 644 for 7 declared and Pakistan replied with 765 for 6 declared, with Younis Khan making 313. The game ended in a draw, but the tour was abandoned days later after the attack in Lahore.

A decade later, Sri Lanka helped bring Test cricket back to Pakistan. The 2019 series ended 1-0 to Pakistan: the Rawalpindi Test was drawn after rain, before Pakistan won by 263 runs at Karachi. Abid Ali made a century on debut in that series, a bright moment for the hosts.

The 2022 series in Sri Lanka finished 1-1, with both Tests at Galle producing results, before Pakistan swept the 2023 return 2-0. The November 2026 series is the first Test meeting in Pakistan since 2019.

What Next

The first Test begins on 9 November 2026 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium and runs to 13 November, with the second Test at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore from 17 to 21 November. Sri Lanka will warm up with a three-day game in Islamabad from 4 to 6 November. Both matches count toward the World Test Championship.

Sri Lanka have named the Sri Lanka Test squad for the tour, and Kusal Mendis leads the side in his first series as Test captain after Dhananjaya de Silva stepped down in October 2026. With Pakistan holding a 23 to 17 lead in the head-to-head, Sri Lanka have the chance to close the gap on this tour. Check the series schedule for dates and venues.

Update: The Rivalry Returns in November 2026 After a Three-Year Gap

The record has stood still since July 2023, and the wait ends now. On the last tour, Pakistan led by Babar Azam won the series 2-0 in Sri Lanka. At Galle, Pakistan chased 342 to win by four wickets, with Saud Shakeel unbeaten on 208 in the first innings. At the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, Pakistan won by an innings and 222 runs, as Abdullah Shafique made 201, Salman Agha finished unbeaten on 132 and Noman Ali took seven for 70. Salman Agha took the Player of the Series award, and the Colombo margin stands as the heaviest home defeat Sri Lanka have suffered in Test cricket.

The Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed the return series on 19 August 2026. Sri Lanka open the tour with a three-day warm-up match in Islamabad from 4 to 6 November, before the first Test in Rawalpindi from 9 to 13 November and the second Test at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore from 17 to 21 November. Both Tests form part of the World Test Championship 2025 to 2027 cycle, so valuable points ride on every session. The full schedule of the series and the Sri Lanka Test squad carry the full tour picture.

Sri Lanka arrive with a new captain. Dhananjaya de Silva stepped down on 8 October 2026 after 18 Tests in charge, with a record of seven wins, eight defeats and three draws, and Kusal Mendis took over the same day. Mendis starts his captaincy with 75 Tests, 4,836 runs and 10 hundreds behind him, while de Silva stays in the side as a batter. The tour of Pakistan is the first series in charge for Mendis, and the head-to-head record gives his team a clear target.

The Test squad landed in Pakistan in early October, and the wider tour opened with three T20 matches in Rawalpindi. The ODI tri-series with England follows, with the final in Lahore on 31 October, before the focus turns to the red ball. When the Test series ends on 21 November, two fresh results join this record, and the tally moves for the first time in more than three years.

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