Picture Credits: Twitter/@marnus3cricket
The ongoing 2nd Test between Pakistan and Australia in Karachi started well for visitors as opener Usman Khawaja (127 off 266) hit his maiden century in Pakistan. After Australian skipper Pat Cummins opted to bat first, David Warner and Khawaja opened the innings for the Aussies and made most of the batting pitch by adding 82 runs for the first wicket. Warner was the first one to depart after he was caught by Mohammad Rizwan when the southpaw was on 36.
Joined by Marnus Labuschagne (0 off 9), Khawaja was steadying the innings and played some of the best cricketing shots before the former suffered a bizarre run-out due to a superb rocket throw from Sajid Khan in the 12th over of innings. Marnus pushed the fullish delivery to mid-off, and seeking to get off the mark, the Aussie left the crease, but Khan grabbed the ball instantly and dislodged the bails with a superb0 throw.
In hindsight, Labuschagne's wicket did not hurt Australia much. Steve Smith and Khawaja played counter-attacking innings and guided the team's total to 250 before Faheem Ashraf's spectacular one-handed catch dismissed Smith at second slip. The Australian vice-captain, who has not struck a century in more than a year, was forced to walk back for 72 off 214 balls. His departure late on day one ended his 159-run partnership with Khawaja, who reached three figures, his third century of the year, shortly after tea in Karachi.
Here is Labuschagne's tweet after being run out:
It was Khawaja's 11th century, but few will be as memorable after reaching the milestone in the city his family is from. While Australia finished Day 1 in a commanding position by scoring 251/3, with Khawaja (127 off 266) still on crease alongside Nathan Lyon (0 off 6), Marnus Labuschagne expressed disappointment over his dismissal by posting his picture on Twitter with a caption, "Yep..fair to say that was no run." With that post, Marnus made it clear that his decision to steal a quick run was a wrong move, and he regrets the same.
Notably, Labuschagne is often seen shouting "No run" while batting but ended up running out himself on this occasion which led to a lot of trolls on social media after which the South Africa-born player posted this image himself.