Twitter trolls Pakistan batsmen for involving in a hilarious run-out

Pakistan and Sri Lanka are currently engaged in the first T20I at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. This comes after the home teams decimated the visitors 2-0 in the ODI series before these 20-over ties. This marks the first time an international team is playing T20Is in Pakistan after the World XI which was led by Faf du Plessis.

Sri Lanka saw Dasun Shanaka lead them in the format for the first time and he started his career by losing the toss. Pakistani captain Sarfaraz Ahmed decided to chase and as a surprise, dropped Fakhar Zaman and this marked the international comebacks of Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad. Danushka Gunathilaka made 57 runs, while Avishka Fernando with 33 and Bhanuka Rajapaksa with 32 made strong contributions to the team’s total, helping them push to 165/5.

Pakistan’s ill-fated start to the chase and a comical runout

The Men in the Green started off badly with Babar Azam and were dismissed for 13, caught behind wonderfully by Bhanuka off Pradeep. The same bowler got rid of Umar Akmal, sending him back for a golden duck on his comeback. Things got worse, as Isuru Udana took care of Shehzad, who made 4 runs. Then Sarfaraz Ahmed and Iftikhar Ahmed tried to steady the ship.

The duo added 46 runs before a hilarious misunderstanding ended a flowering partnership that was looking good to take the home team past the finish line. Sarfaraz took off in search of a quick single after jamming out a yorker, but Iftikhar at the other end isn’t interested at all. Both batsmen jostled to the crease at the striker’s end. Meanwhile, Udana removed the bails at the bowling end and replays had to be seen who was out.

Sarfaraz Ahmed made the ground first and Iftikhar had to go back to the pavilion for 24-ball 25. The captain followed suit soon for 24 and Pakistan found themselves in trouble at 76/5. The condition of the team was much better at the half time, as Pakistan had a lot to cheer about, given that Mohammad Hasnain picked a hat-trick that stretched to two overs and became the youngest to do so in T20Is and second-youngest after Aaqib Javed in international cricket.

Twitterverse was amazed at the comical incompetence of the Pakistani batsman after watching the run-out and decided to make fun of the incident in the only way they could.