Over the years, cricketers from Pakistan have been involved in many memorable moments on field, many of them comical to the point of bizarre.
But the weird run out on the third day of the second Test against Australia, Azhar Ali outdid them all. One could almost call it a “brain fade”, so extraordinarily unwise was the dismissal!
In the Abu Dhabi Test Ali was batting on 64 in Peter Siddle’s over when he edged one to third man and the ball went rolling towards the boundary ropes. Assuming the ball had gone over the boundary, he walked down to the pitch to have a chat with his partner Asad Shafiq.
But in a bizarre, almost amusing twist, the ball stopped short just of the boundary. It was promptly picked up by Mitchell Starc who threw it to wicketkeeper Tim Paine.
But the Pakistan pair, deep in discussion, didn’t see it coming till it was too late and then Ali could only watch as the bails were dislodged.
Astonishing run out in Abu Dhabi!
— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) October 18, 2018
Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq have a chinwag, thinking the ball had gone for four. Tim Paine whips the bails off! #PAKvAUS pic.twitter.com/rbli7cr2pk
Like Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur, the viewers could only shake his head in disbelief as Ali had to walk back in what is already a dramatic Test match.
But Ali’s brain fade didn’t go unnoticed on Twitter as people were first astonished and then amused by the strange dismissal.
Mickey Arthur's reaction to the Azhar Ali run out #PAKvAUS pic.twitter.com/nGkCp6rRiY
— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) October 18, 2018
Oh dear. Pakistan's batsmen assume the ball has gone to the boundary at third man, Starc fires back a return after it stops a few inches from the rope, and Paine whips off the bails with Azhar Ali conversing with Asad Shafiq in mid-pitch. Bizarre #PakvAus
— Daniel Brettig (@danbrettig) October 18, 2018
OUT! Wow. Azhar Ali has just outdone Marnus Labuschagne. He's stopped running in the middle of the pitch because he thought it was a boundary. It was not. https://t.co/PmScvw098C #PakvAus pic.twitter.com/V6yktYLXeZ
— FOX SPORTS Cricket (@FoxCricket) October 18, 2018
That run out is one for the ages... Azhar Ali has just raised the bar for his fellow batsmen to an unprecedented level...
— Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) October 18, 2018
p.s - Coach Mickey Arthur's reaction... 😂
There’s a new extreme sport taking off in Pakistan: Running Between The Wickets With Azhar Ali. The purest distillation of terror.#PAKvAUS
— Guerilla Cricket (@guerillacricket) October 18, 2018
“We’ll get Marnus and Azhar Ali to star in a movie - Dumb and Dumber.”
— Neroli Meadows (@Neroli_M_FOX) October 18, 2018
Gold from AB!!! @FoxCricket
Where Pakistan cricket is concerned, always expect hilarious run-outs.
Mohammad Amir's Run Out Against WI in Sharjah... pic.twitter.com/5nQEn9iUol
— Taimoor Zaman (@taimoorze) October 18, 2018