Pakistan end three-year away Test drought with West Indies win

Pakistan ended a three-year away Test drought by beating West Indies by eight wickets in Port of Spain, a result that mattered more than the 1-1 series draw because it snapped an eight-match losing streak outside home conditions. The win came in the second Test of Pakistan’s 2026 tour of the West Indies, played from August 2 to August 6, and gave Pakistan a rare finish away from home that did not unravel late.

The match turned on Pakistan’s control across both innings. Pakistan made 387 in their first innings, a total that gave them the platform to dictate terms, and they were 77/2 when they completed the chase. Finishing a Test in that position, rather than scrambling through a tense lower-order rescue, suggested a side that kept its shape under pressure and avoided the lapses that have often hurt it on tours abroad. In Port of Spain, the margin was decisive enough to show more than a brief hot spell with the bat or ball.

The broader context sharpened the significance. Reuters said the victory ended Pakistan’s eight-match losing streak away from home and secured the country’s first away Test win in three years. That is a sharper measure of progress than the drawn series itself. Away victories in Test cricket are hard to manufacture, especially for teams that have been scrutinized for inconsistency on foreign pitches, and Pakistan’s performance in Trinidad offered at least one clean response to that criticism.

There were also signs of a reset in leadership and mood. West Indies Cricket posted first-Test highlights on July 30 with a title that referenced Babar Azam’s return as captain, underlining that Pakistan entered the tour with a familiar figure back at the top. The result in Port of Spain will strengthen Babar’s case as Pakistan search for an overseas Test core that can hold together under difficult conditions.

For West Indies, the series draw denied them full use of home advantage. For Pakistan, the more important number was not the 1-1 scoreline but the fact that a tour that could have ended in another disappointment instead produced a controlled away win, one that gives selectors and players a firmer base for the next red-ball assignment.