Twitter reacts to Bjorn Fortuin and Tom Curran recreating Misbah’s 2007 WT20 Final scoop

02/15/2020

For the second time in as many matches, the South Africa-England clash went to the wire, but interestingly, the last ball of the second T20 provided Indian fans with a sweet throwback. Bjorn Fortuin scooped one straight to short fine leg to recreate Misbah’s infamous scoop in the 2007 WT20 Final.

Given the one-sided nature of the Tests, the limited-over leg of the series - given England’s dominance in the shorter formats - was expected to be a cakewalk for the visitors. However, the Proteas led by their newly-appointed skipper Quinton de Kock managed to draw the ODI series and also drew first blood in the T20Is, making the 2nd T20I in Durban a do-or-die encounter for Eoin Morgan’s men.

And after 119 balls of exhilarating action - including a mad Moeen Ali blitz and a Chirs Jordan death bowling masterclass - it came down to South Africa needing 3 off the last ball to clinch the series, with newcomer Bjorn Fortuin on strike. Fortuin, until he came out to bat, had not faced a single delivery in international cricket and the elder Curran was all pumped up, having just dismissed Dwaine Pretorius in the previous delivery. By now, the fans were all convinced that a dramatic finish was on the cards, but little did anyone expect what was about to come.

Curran, with years of expertise in the BBL bowling in the death under his belt, unphased by the equation, steamed in to bowl the last ball. And whilst many were expecting an inswinging yorker, the 24-year-old instead opted for a cutter outside leg-stump, perhaps in an attempt to catch the batsman off guard. And the batsman Fortuin, who was expecting pace on the ball, walked towards his off-stump and went for an extravagant scoop, but could only manage to find the fielder at short fine-leg, Adil Rashid.

Everything about the delivery, be it Fortuin’s trigger movement or his scoop or Curran’s delivery or even Rashid’s catch, was reminiscent to the final moments of the WT20 final between India and Pakistan and at that point in time, you could almost “In the airrrrrrrrrrrr, Sreesanth. TAKES IT” reverberate in your ears. Alas, England leveled the series and ensured that they will live to fight another day. They say fortune favours the brave, but well, I guess Bjorn misread it as “Fortuin”, instead.

pic.twitter.com/stnZRMWNwj
— Utkarsh Bhatla (@UtkarshBhatla) February 15, 2020

What a thrilling series it has been so far

1st T20I: goes to the final ball, 🇿🇦 won by 1 run

2nd T20I: goes to the final ball, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 won by 2 runs

Who's looking forward to another final-ball thriller on Sunday then? 🙋‍♂️🙋‍♀️#SAvENG pic.twitter.com/ddQIobI5kl
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 14, 2020

Absolutely

Test cricket. 50 over cricket. T20 cricket. It’s just the best sport in the world. #SAvENG 🏏
— Eleanor Oldroyd (@EllyOldroyd) February 14, 2020

Misbah couldn't do it in 2007 T20 wc final & so does fortuin last night #SAvENG smthing is wrong with the scoop shot @ICC @OfficialCSA @englandcricket
— abhishek wasave (@abhiwasave) February 15, 2020

This is how much it means

That is the joy of... 👇

2 wickets in 2 balls 🙌

Winning it for your team 👌

Bringing in the weekend 😎#SAvENG | #RoyalsFamily | @TC59 pic.twitter.com/PWcMCOnjCI
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) February 15, 2020

2007 WC Finals flashback

One hell of a match amazing scenes remind me of 2007 world cup misbahul haq playing that shot #ENGvSA
— Faisal Rabbani (@faisalrabbani22) February 14, 2020