I rode my luck: Pietersen
First Published : 29 Oct 2011, 02:47
Last Modified : 03 Nov 2011, 21:17
Kolkata, October 29: Kevin Pietersen missed the final game of the ODI series that England lost 5-0 with a hand injury, so his inclusion in the squad for the lone Twenty20 fixture would have been a pleasant surprise for England fans. Not only did KP play the game, he also won it for his team and ended England’s tour of misery on a cheerful note.
Batting on a tough wicket where most of the batsmen struggled to put bat to ball, Pietersen cruised to a 39-ball 53 runs to make a light work of India’s modest 121-run target.
Excerpts from the post-match presentation where KP was named Man-of-the-Match
On his knock
It was a tricky wicket, the kind on which you need to take a risk or two in the first six overs. Fortunately, I was dropped a couple of times and just rode my luck this evening.
On the team’s performance on the tour
India is a good place to play as a batsman and all of us have underperformed this time. We’d have loved to do a lot better but believe me, we tried our hardest. I’ve come to India for tours before and I think this is only the second game I’ve won against India, so it’s particularly pleasing to win this. But we have a lot to work on technique-wise here on the subcontinent. The good thing about these lads is that we strive really hard to improve and we’ll continue to do that.
On the team’s morale
Like I said, every single guy in this team wakes up in the morning wanting to improve and that’s the best part about playing with this England team. We have a management structure that drives and pushes us to challenge ourselves each day. We tried really hard on this trip and got outperformed in the ODIs but we showed courage and determination to come out and beat India this evening.
