Five of the best knocks of Kevin Pietersen

1. 227 vs Australia (Ashes, Adelaide, 2010)

Kevin Pietersen 227 vs Australia

Ashes is always special to watch, and it is all the more important to players who feature in it. So, a double hundred in an Ashes game, which is the reason for a team winning by an innings margin at it’s opponent’s home, has got to be one of the most special innings in a player’s career.

England came up with one of the most brilliant displays of cricket at the Adelaide Oval to go 1-0 up in the Ashes of 2010, which they ultimately went on to win.

After an early scare, Australia put up 245 in the 1st innings. Andrew Strauss’ dismissal in the 2nd over meant England didn’t start great either. Australia were then, however, made to work hard for the wickets. Pietersen and Alastair Cook took the score from 176/2 to 351, before Cook was dismissed by Harris for 148. Pietersen had just completed his own hundred in style and looked good to go on.

He was a part of 100 plus partnerships for the next two wickets with Collingwood and Ian Bell. He reached the double century mark with a single to mid-off and got down on one knee to acknowledge the crowd. His celebrations showed how much it meant to him. He hit a total of 32 boundaries and a six before he got out to Xavier Doherty. He scored most of his runs in the square leg to long on region and had no difficulty in dispatching almost all the bowlers to the boundary.

Australia needed 375 to make England bat again, but they fell a good 71 short. Graeme Swann got a five-for, and even Pietersen joined the party by dismissing the top scorer Michael Clarke for 80. Needless to say, he was again the Man of the Match.