Five of the best knocks of Kevin Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen was a major force to reckon with in the English batting line-up. He was somebody who had an unique style of playing the game and approaching situations. With an innate flair for playing an attacking brand of cricket, he was the ideal batsman for the shorter versions of the game. He was no less a Test batsman, which is testified by the fact that he had 3 double hundreds to his name. He never had any fear for a bowler and could be relied on to go after the bowling attack in any given situation, irrespective of the venues.

Nothing could stop him once he had decided that he would attack. If Pietersen got going, he was a kind of player who could have a definite say in deciding the result of the match. ‘The Switch Hit’ – his creation and contribution to cricket was a spectacle to behold; it took everyone by surprise when he first used it in international cricket. His unorthodox style on the field will always be remembered for times to come.

Here is a compilation of some of the best innings that Pietersen played for England.

5. 73* vs Pakistan (ICC World Twenty20, Barbados, 2010)

Kevin Pietersen 73* vs Pakistan

After taking a brilliant catch running back towards deep midwicket to send back the dangerous Umar Akmal in the first innings, Pietersen was all game when it was England’s turn to chase down a target of 147. Following a brisk start given by the openers Michael Lumb and Craig Kieswetter, Pietersen and Paul Collingwood put on a 60 run-stand to effectively seal the match for England. While Collingwood contributed only 16 in the stand, Pietersen went all out on attack against the Pakistani bowlers. He remained there till the end as England secured a victory by 6 wickets with 3 balls to spare, and he was rightfully declared as the Man of the Match.

Having started his scoring with a boundary through covers off Afridi, he never looked back. He slammed Razzaq for two more fours in a single over shortly after he was joined by Collingwood, making it clear that the fall of Kieswetter at the other end least bothered him. He brought up his fifty with a huge heave, which sailed past the bowler’s head, and hit Mohammad Asif for consecutive boundaries in the following over to bring England to within 10 runs of the target. He hit a total of 8 fours and 2 sixes and made things look very easy, giving no chance for the Pakistan bowlers to have any effect on the game.