Is this the most ridiculous run-out of all time? Pakistan batsmen Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq have total brain fade against Australia

As any cricketer of any age will tell you, you don't stop running until the ball has hit the boundary rope.

But in one of the most bizarre collective brain fades ever seen on a cricket pitch, Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq, who between them have 130 Tests-worth of experience, forgot this one very important rule. Even by Pakistan standards, this takes some beating.

It happened in the ninth over of the morning session during day three of the second Test between Pakistan and Australia in Dubai.

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Off the third ball of Peter Siddle's over, Azhar got a thick edge through gully, past Shaun Marsh, and it looked for all money that the ball would race away to the rope.

The chasing fielder, Mitchell Starc, probably assumed the ball would go for four too, but hared after it anyway, possibly in the knowledge that this pitch has a very slow outfield.

Completely unaware of what the ball was doing, and assuming he had just added four runs to his total, Azhar strolled a few yards out of his crease, and Shafiq came to meet him. Cue congratulatory fist-bump.

The ball, meanwhile, had stopped a couple of feet before the boundary and Starc was closing in. Aussie wicketkeeper Tim Paine twigged and ran up to the stumps, collecting Starc's pin-point throw and whipping off the bails.

The Aussies celebrated while Azhar and Shafiq looked back in stranded befuddlement, attempting to work out exactly what had just happened.

Priceless. And Azhar had to walk.