Watch: Pakistan Batter 'Let's England Keeper Run Him Out' In U19 World Cup, Incident Stuns All

The ICC Under-19 World Cup witnessed one of its most bewildering finishes during the Group C opener between Pakistan and England in Harare on Friday. What should have been a tense final stand ended in a "brain-fade" moment that has quickly gone viral across social media. Chasing a target of 211, Pakistan's innings was anchored by a valiant 65 from captain Farhan Yousaf. However, after Yousaf's dismissal in the 41st over, the tail was left with the task of scraping together the remaining runs. As the match reached its climax, Pakistan's last pair, Momin Qamar and Ali Raza, were attempting to keep the dream alive. This is when a truly bizarre dismissal unfolded.

The incident occurred in the 47th over with Pakistan reeling at 173/9. In a moment of complete lapse in concentration, Raza began to wander outside his crease, not to steal a run, but seemingly to avoid a throw coming in from the deep or simply out of a momentary loss of situational awareness.

England's captain and wicketkeeper, Thomas Rew, showed lightning-quick reflexes, collecting the ball and immediately breaking the stumps. It was almost as if the Pakistan batter had no problem getting himself run out. Here's the video:

I was watching it live aur mujhe abhi tak samaj nhi aya ye krna kya chah rha tha pic.twitter.com/Ltr4QnlFVw

— Vishal (@Fanpointofviews) January 16, 2026

Replays confirmed the nightmare scenario for Pakistan, Raza was just short of his ground and had made no attempt to get back before the bails were dislodged.

The "comical" nature of the run-out left commentators and fans in disbelief. The dismissal sealed a 37-run victory for England U19, giving them a perfect start to their World Cup campaign. For Pakistan, the loss was compounded by the nature of the final wicket, with captain Farhan Yousaf noting post-match that while the middle order failed to fire, such lapses in concentration are particularly costly in tournaments of the stature of the U19 World Cup.

England now move forward to face Zimbabwe on 18 January, while a shell-shocked Pakistan side must regroup before taking on Scotland on 19 January.

Topics mentioned in this article

Pakistan U19 England U19 ICC U19 World Cup 2026 Cricket