Driving off a battleship can still be a strategic loss

Did packs of cruisers ever take on a battleship?

Yes, and they could drive one off, but the result might still be a strategic loss if the opposing convoy completed its mission.

Cruiser groups did sometimes engage battleships, just as destroyer groups occasionally did. One such action is listed as a British loss because the enemy achieved the strategic goal of getting a convoy through. Tactically, however, several cruisers had managed to drive off a battleship and its escorts. Battle labels must distinguish damage and maneuver from the larger mission each side was trying to accomplish.