'Guess what, I found a way': Kevin Pietersen remembers the 'greatest innings played by a foreigner in India'
India vs England: A debate has been revolving around the Ahmedabad pitch after the pink-ball Test ended in less than two full days, with many cricketing pundits citing the pitch not prepared for a Test match.
England batsman Kevin Pietersen recalled his historic hundred in Mumbai in the 2012 Test against India to explain how the Joe Root-led side could have adjusted themselves to bat on tough spinning pitches. Pietersen had smashed 186 runs on a turner eight years ago and had helped his team to a huge 10-wicket win in that game.
A debate has been revolving around the Ahmedabad pitch after the pink-ball Test ended in less than two full days, with many cricketing pundits citing the pitch not prepared for a Test match. But Pietersen insisted that the Ahmedabad pitch was not dangerous and explained how he went about his innings in the 2012 Test match in Mumbai.
"Go and have a look at a lot of the balls that were bowled in Mumbai. And guess what, I found a way and I defended every single ball that was straight. Every single ball that pitched and bounced and went over my shoulder, I parked it to one side and said 'I’m never hitting that so who cares? Who cares if that goes through the top?' he told TalkSport, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Pietersen further added that despite all the criticism, the Ahmedabad pitch was not "dangerous".
"Neither that pitch in Mumbai eight years ago nor the one in Ahmedabad were dangerous. No one was worried about getting hurt on Thursday. And who cares about the ball that pitches and goes straight to slip? You are not going to hit it. But find a way to intimidate the bowler.
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"How many of the England batsmen came down the wicket and punched it to mid-off like Rohit Sharma did when he batted in the first innings? How many tried to rotate strike by using the crease, coming down the wicket? They were just sitting ducks waiting to get done.
"Go and have a look at my innings that I played in Mumbai in 2012 on an absolute Bunsen burner. They say it’s the greatest innings played by a foreigner in India," Pietersen further added.
"There are only two great Test match batsmen on show here: Virat Kohli and Joe Root. There are some very good players in the rest of the batting line-up. But on that kind of wicket, when it’s going to be testing your skill and your technique and your resolve, you need better players and better players would have been able to adapt at some stage," he signed off.