AUS vs PAK: Matthew Renshaw brings up fifty with 7 runs in single ball after shoddy fielding by Pakistan

In a bizarre occurrence, Matthew Renshaw brought up his half-century with 7 runs off one ball.

In the four-day warm-up match between Pakistan and Prime Minister’s XI at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.

In the penultimate ball of the 24th over, Renshaw drove off-spinner Abrar Ahmed through the covers. Mir Hamza made a full-stretch dive and kept the ball in the field of play. Just when it seemed that he saved one crucial run for Pakistan, things went awry for the visiting team.

Hamza speared in a strong throw from the deep and Babar Azam collected it at the non-striker’s end. Babar realised that there’s a chance of a run-out at the striker’s end and hence, he threw the ball with a lot of force.

But somehow, the ball went through between wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed and skipper Shan Masood and stopped beyond the boundary ropes. Saud Shakeel went and collected the ball as Renshaw got to his half-century in dramatic style.

Earlier, Pakistan put up a decent score of 391 for the loss of nine wickets (declared) after skipper Masood racked up his third double century in first class cricket. The southpaw batted at No.3 and stayed unbeaten on 201 off 298 balls with the help of 14 fours and one six.

Abdullah Shafique, Babar and Sarfaraz made 38, 40 and 41 respectively. Jordan Buckingham was the star bowler for PMXI after he picked up five crucial wickets and gave away only 80 runs from 23 overs.

After the warm-up match, Pakistan are scheduled to lock horns with Pat Cummins’ Australia in the opening Test, starting Thursday, December 14 at the Perth Stadium. Melbourne and Sydney will host the other two matches.