MAGNIFICENT KP

 

Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo. 

Venue- Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai [November 2012].

In November 2012, English Cricket Team toured India to play 4 test matches. The previous encounter between them took place a year ago in England wherein the Hosts whitewashed Visitors 4-0. The Indians back then were the number 1 test side so this was literally the scorecard which no one predicted off. Furthermore, by the series win the English not only won the trophy back, but also became the number 1 test side. So, there was a lot of buzz around when the English toured India.  The local press was screaming for revenge and so was the crowd. 

The first test took place in Ahmedabad wherein the hosts simply outclassed the visitors. Indians won the match by 9 wickets and took a 1-0 lead in the 4-match series. Though England showed some fightback in the second innings of the test match, but they were no match to Indians. 

The action now shifted to the iconic Wankhede Stadium wherein the second test of the series was scheduled. On the instructions of the host, a spin web was weaved in the city of Mumbai. On a spinner friendly wicket, Indian Captain MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first. Riding upon Cheteshwar Pujara's gritty 135, Indians posted a competitive total of 327 in their first innings. For the English Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann picked up 5 and 4 wickets respectively. 

In response the English were 68/2 when Kevin Pietersen stepped into bat. One more wicket and the game could have completely turned towards Indians. But this is when we witnessed one of the greatest knocks from one of the greatest cricketers. Pietersen scored a massive 186 from 233 deliveries and took his team to a respectable total. His innings consisted of 20 boundaries and 4 sixes. It is pertinent to note that this innings of his was not just power hitting but was also about timing and finding gaps.

Furthermore, Pietersen made batting look easy upon a pitch which was turning like anything. On a spin web he played a knock which would be remembered for ages. It is interesting to note that in the previous test at Ahmedabad he managed to get only 19 runs in 2 innings. As a result, there was huge pressure when he came out to bat in Mumbai. But this is when Great Players show their class.

 The English in their first innings were eventually bowled out for 413 runs. Apart from Pietersen, Alastair Cook managed to score a solid 122 on that spinning track. If we remove the scores of KP and Cook, the entire English team managed to score just 105 runs. It was that difficult to bat on that track. For Indians Ojha was the leading wicket taker as he picked up 5 wickets in the first innings.

The batting became even more difficult in the second innings and the duo of Monty and Swann just blew India away. The Hosts were bowled out for 142 in their second innings. Monty picked up 6 whereas Swann was able to dismiss 4 Indians batsmen. For India, Gambhir scored a gritty 65, but apart from him only Ashwin was able to get a double-digit score which was 11 runs. Except these two guys no Indian batsman even managed to score in double digits. 

The visitors needed 57 runs to win the match which they chased comfortably without losing any wicket. The series was now 1-1. For his magnificent 186, Kevin Pietersen was awarded the man of the match award. 

To watch the knock of KP, Click Here.