India v England: Kevin Pietersen's century is the finest innings by an England batsman in Asia
Nobody can state with certainty that Kevin Pietersen’s 186 was the best innings ever played for England. A masterpiece on a spinning pitch is chalk, and a masterpiece on a seaming pitch is cheese.
By Scyld Berry, in Mumbai
7:14PM GMT 25 Nov 2012
It can be claimed with some conviction, however, that Pietersen'S century in Mumbai was not only his best innings but also the best ever by an England batsman in India. Or make that the best ever by an England batsman in Asia.
Pakistani pitches never turn so much as the one that Dr Dhoni ordered for the second Test: its earth was red, perhaps with embarrassment, as the ball spat and spun so much. And while Marcus Trescothick made a sublime hundred on a not dissimilar pitch in Galle, that was in the first Test when the series was unfolding, not at stake.
Pietersen’s England record-equalling 22nd Test century contained all the ingredients of greatness, and something more. Love him, like him or loathe him, let us recognise that what he did with his bat in this Test match was nothing short of genius.
It was virtually free of flaw for a start. He edged his main adversary, the left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, through gully early on Sunday morning, after he had resumed on 62. Thereafter he rose and soared, above and beyond the capacity of any other mortals in this match, even the most admirable Alastair Cook, until he touched the heights of inspiration.
His innings, secondly, was composed in extreme conditions that were far too demanding for most batsmen, including some of the best players of this era.
On the third day, 17 batsmen from England and India laboured to grind out 221 runs between them – while Pietersen hit 124 off his own bat at a waltz.
The bowling was worthy of the occasion too. India’s attack has taken the best part of 1,000 Test wickets, and they made short work of all the other right-handed batsmen in England’s team.
It was as if there were two different games on two different pitches. In one, the batsmen groped and missed or edged, especially at Ojha; in the other, Cook played steadily forwards to scotch the spin, while Pietersen scored either a boundary or a single, whichever he pleased, as when Ojha turned a ball from over the wicket across Pietersen, who waved it over extra cover with his wand.
So the conditions were extreme, and the bowling demanding, and the circumstances were onerous too. When he came in on Saturday, England were 68 for two off 34 overs and, given the loss of one more wicket, could have been bowled out well behind India on first innings. Nothing then would have saved them from going 2-0 down.
Instead, Cook and Pietersen shared a partnership of the same calibre as the bowling partnership between Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar. In both pairs, the one complemented the other. An accurate off-spinner and a left-armer driving the ball into the disintegrating surface; a low-risk left-handed accumulator and a high-risk right-handed attacker.
But as with most of Pietersen’s finer innings, he doffed his helmet to patience before running amok. True, he went after Harbhajan Singh straight away, but he played himself in against Ojha, using a vertical bat, before he worked out how to take him apart and only then played the sweep and slog-sweep.
This was the shot selection of maturity: he might not have the finest discrimination when he talks or texts, but he does when he bats as he did in Mumbai.
It was appropriate that Pietersen should equal the England Test record for centuries in the same innings, and within the same half-hour, as Cook because they are symbiotic.
They used to be the hare and the tortoise but not any more: Cook’s wagon wheel of scoring shots was all round the wicket, like Pietersen’s, and a couple of off drives verged on the handsome as he threw himself into the stroke and his new role of captain. Now it is more like sports car and bus.
Of the others who share the England record, Pietersen has little in common with Geoff Boycott, as a batsman that is: they have both been known to rub people up the wrong way.
Colin Cowdrey could have been a brilliant stroke-playing aggressor but all too often preferred to nudge and accumulate.
It is with Wally Hammond, if anyone in English cricket, that Pietersen has a parallel.
One of Hammond’s hundreds came when he trashed New Zealand in Auckland for 336 not out at faster than a run a minute, with 34 fours and 10 sixes.
And England’s next Test series will be in New Zealand, when Pietersen will no doubt continue to vex and amaze.
Kevin Pietersen’s five best centuries before yesterday:
149 v South Africa (Headingley, 2012): His best innings before yesterday as he shredded the world’s best pace attack.
151 v Sri Lanka (Colombo, 2012): His finest innings against spin before yesterday, off only 165 balls, levelled the series.
158 v Australia (the Oval, 2005): First Test ton saw England cling on to 2-1 lead.
227 v Australia (Adelaide, 2010-11): Gave England the psychological lead in Ashes.
202* v India (Lord’s, 2011): Longest, most assiduous innings but final 50 was brilliant.
