National Stadium Karachi pitch report: Test, ODI and T20I records and stats
Pakistan went 34 Tests at the National Stadium before they lost one, and have lost only three of 47. Every record from Karachi’s Tests, ODIs and T20Is, and what the pitch numbers say.
Dec 25, 2022 · Updated Oct 7, 2026
Pakistan played 34 Tests at the National Stadium in Karachi before they lost one. The run started in 1955 and ended in December 2000, when England chased 176 in near darkness to win by six wickets. In 47 Tests at the ground Pakistan have won 23, drawn 21 and lost only three.
This National Stadium Karachi pitch report covers all of it: 47 Tests, 59 ODIs and 11 T20Is, with every major record and what the numbers say about the surface. The figures are for men’s internationals that were actually played; cancelled and abandoned fixtures are left out.
National Stadium Karachi at a glance
| Location | Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan |
| First Test | Pakistan v India, 26 February 1955 |
| First ODI | Pakistan v West Indies, 21 November 1980 |
| Men’s internationals | 47 Tests, 59 ODIs, 11 T20Is |
| Pakistan’s record | Tests W23 D21 L3, ODIs W26 L22 NR2, T20Is W9 L2 |
| Last men’s international | South Africa v England, Champions Trophy, 1 March 2025 |
Karachi pitch report: what the numbers say
The Test record contains the most useful single fact about this ground. Captains who won the toss chose to bat 39 times in 47 Tests, and the side batting first has won only seven of them. It lost 19 and drew 21. Pakistan worked this out long ago: in the 27 home Tests they batted second, they won 17 and lost one.
Runs have grown with every era. The first innings averaged 269.1 in the Tests played before 1980 and 359.7 in the six since Test cricket came back to Karachi in December 2019, and three of those six were drawn. The 2009 Test against Sri Lanka is the extreme case: Sri Lanka made 644/7 declared, Younis Khan replied with 313 in Pakistan’s 765/6 declared, and the match was drawn. It was the last Test at the ground for more than ten years, because the attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus in Lahore the following month kept international cricket out of Pakistan.
| Tests | Played | Avg first innings | Side batting first W-D-L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 to 1979 | 15 | 269.1 | 0-10-5 |
| 1980 to 1999 | 18 | 276.1 | 2-7-9 |
| 2000 to 2009 | 8 | 350.0 | 4-1-3 |
| 2019 to 2023 | 6 | 359.7 | 1-3-2 |
ODI totals climbed the same way and have since levelled off, with no lean either way between bat and chase. The first innings averaged 212.8 in the 1980s and 290.4 in the 2000s, and it is 286.6 in the 13 ODIs with a result since 2019. Across all 57 decided ODIs the side batting first has won 28, which is as even as a ground gets. The toss has been no help: its winner has taken only 25 of those 57.
| ODIs | With a result | Avg first innings | Won batting first |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 to 1989 | 10 | 212.8 | 3 |
| 1990 to 1999 | 11 | 225.0 | 5 |
| 2000 to 2009 | 23 | 290.4 | 13 |
| 2019 to 2025 | 13 | 286.6 | 7 |
T20Is are the format where batting first has paid. The side batting first won seven of the 11 and averaged 189.7, and the toss-winner won only four.
National Stadium Karachi Test records
| Record | Holder |
|---|---|
| Highest total | 765/6d, Pakistan v Sri Lanka, 2009 |
| Lowest total | 80, Australia v Pakistan, 1956 |
| Highest score | 313, Younis Khan v Sri Lanka, 2009 |
| Best innings bowling | 8/60, Imran Khan v India, 1982 |
| Most runs | 1,393, Javed Miandad (17 Tests) |
| Most wickets | 59, Abdul Qadir (13 Tests) |
The ground’s Test list is a Pakistan list. Miandad leads the runs with 1,393, and spinners Abdul Qadir (59) and Iqbal Qasim (44) sit either side of Imran Khan’s 51 in the wickets. Babar Azam has 787 runs in only six Tests here at 71.54, the best average of anyone in the top four.
Karachi is also where two careers began on the same day. Sachin Tendulkar and Waqar Younis both made their Test debuts here on 15 November 1989, and Waqar bowled the 16-year-old Tendulkar for 15. Our India v Pakistan head-to-head has the full record between the two sides.
Pakistan’s three Test defeats here came against England in 2000, South Africa in 2007 and England again in December 2022.
National Stadium Karachi ODI records
| Record | Holder |
|---|---|
| Highest total | 374/4, India v Hong Kong, 2008 |
| Highest successful chase | 355/4, Pakistan v South Africa, 2025 |
| Lowest total | 115, Bangladesh v Pakistan, 2008 |
| Highest score | 181, Viv Richards v Sri Lanka, 1987 |
| Best bowling | 6/13, Ajantha Mendis v India, 2008 |
| Most runs | 817, Mohammad Yousuf |
| Most wickets | 23, Wasim Akram |
The newest record is the best story. In the tri-series in February 2025, South Africa made 352/5 and Pakistan chased it down with six balls to spare, Salman Agha making 134 and Mohammad Rizwan 122 not out. It is the highest successful ODI chase at the ground, and at the time it was the highest in Pakistan’s ODI history.
The 2008 Asia Cup, played entirely in Pakistan, supplied three of the other records: India’s 374/4 against Hong Kong, Bangladesh’s 115 and Mendis’s 6/13 in the final, which Sri Lanka won. Richards’s 181 off 125 balls came at the 1987 World Cup. Our Asia Cup winners list has every final.
The recent form line is less flattering for the home side. Since January 2023 Pakistan have won four and lost five of their nine ODIs here.
National Stadium Karachi T20I records
| Date | Batting first | Batting second | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Apr 2008 | Pakistan 203/5 | Bangladesh 101 | Pakistan |
| 1 Apr 2018 | Pakistan 203/5 | West Indies 60 | Pakistan |
| 2 Apr 2018 | Pakistan 205/3 | West Indies 123 | Pakistan |
| 3 Apr 2018 | West Indies 153/6 | Pakistan 154/2 | Pakistan |
| 13 Dec 2021 | Pakistan 200/6 | West Indies 137 | Pakistan |
| 14 Dec 2021 | Pakistan 172/8 | West Indies 163 | Pakistan |
| 16 Dec 2021 | West Indies 207/3 | Pakistan 208/3 | Pakistan |
| 20 Sep 2022 | Pakistan 158/7 | England 160/4 | England |
| 22 Sep 2022 | England 199/5 | Pakistan 203/0 | Pakistan |
| 23 Sep 2022 | England 221/3 | Pakistan 158/8 | England |
| 25 Sep 2022 | Pakistan 166/4 | England 163 | Pakistan |
| Record | Holder |
|---|---|
| Highest total | 221/3, England v Pakistan, 2022 |
| Lowest total | 60, West Indies v Pakistan, 2018 |
| Highest score | 110*, Babar Azam v England, 2022 |
| Best bowling | 4/40, Mohammad Wasim v West Indies, 2021 |
| Most runs | 455, Mohammad Rizwan |
| Most wickets | 11, Mohammad Nawaz |
Babar’s 110 not out is part of the most famous chase here. England set 200 in September 2022 and Babar and Rizwan (88 not out) knocked it off together with three balls left, at the time the highest chase in men’s T20 cricket without losing a wicket. Both of Pakistan’s T20I defeats in Karachi came in that same series.
National Stadium Karachi FAQs
Is the Karachi pitch good for batting?
Yes, and increasingly so. Test first innings have averaged 359.7 since 2019 and ODI first innings 286.6. In Tests the second innings has been the better place to be: the side batting first has won seven of 47.
How many Tests have Pakistan lost at the National Stadium?
Three in 47: England in 2000, South Africa in 2007 and England in 2022. Pakistan were unbeaten in their first 34 Tests at the ground.
What is the highest score at the National Stadium Karachi?
Younis Khan’s 313 against Sri Lanka in February 2009 is the highest individual score, and Pakistan’s 765/6 declared in the same match is the highest team total.
Pakistan’s other two big international grounds have their own guides: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, which hosts Sri Lanka’s T20Is this month, and the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Photo credit: Alamy