5 times Kevin Pietersen rescued England across formats

Kevin Pietersen, one of England's most celebrated sportsmen, officially called time on his professional cricketing career following his involvement in the Pakistan Super League this year. A glorious – yet controversial – international career saw him represent his country in 104 Tests, 136 ODIs and 37 T20s, including being the Man of the Tournament in England's only global tournament win - the T20 World Cup in 2010.

Sportskeeda revisits 5 of his rescue acts across formats in national team colours, though many more innings – like the 186 at Mumbai, 2012; the 227 at Adelaide, 2010 et al – would rank among the best modern day knocks by an English batsman.

#5 158 vs Australia, The Oval 2005

Brief Scores: England 373 (Strauss 129, Flintoff 72; Warne 6/122) and 335 (Pietersen 158; Warne 6/124, McGrath 3/85) drew with Australia 367 (Hayden 138, Langer 105; Flintoff 5/78) and 4/0 (Hayden 0*, Langer 0*)

Australia had already got a taste of newcomer Kevin Pietersen, who batted with freedom and was not afraid to attack even Shane Warne. At The Oval, with England three down early in the second innings and the urn at their disposal, Pietersen began calmly, and was put down at slip by Warne on 15 – Steve Waugh would have approved that Warne “dropped the Ashes” – after which commenced a carnage with the visitors being blown away with one big hit after another.

Brett Lee, the unfortunate bowler when Pietersen was dropped, was targetted by the youngster, who hammered boundaries and towering sixes at will; as if to rub salt into the wounds, Warne was dispatched to the stands twice in the over immediately after giving Pietersen a life. A memorable first Test ton of 158 – laced with 15 fours and 7 sixes – dug England out of a hole and resulted in a rain-affected draw, thus bringing back the urn after 16 years following a 2-1 series win.

#4 149 vs South Africa, Headingley 2012

An attacking 149 from Kevin Pietersen at Headingley in 2012 gave England a lead against South Africa

Brief Scores: South Africa 419 (Petersen 182, Smith 52; Broad 3/96) and 258/9 dec (Rudolph 69; Broad 5/69, Pietersen 3/52) drew with England 425 (Pietersen 149, Prior 68; Tahir 3/68) and 130/4 (Cook 46, Trott 30*; Duminy 1/10)

England had to ensure a draw at Headingley kept them alive in the three-match series. After the hosts were 173/4 – less than half of South Africa's 419 – Pietersen formed a partnership of 147 with debutant James Taylor, where the former's aggression eventually gave England the lead. Pietersen took most liking to the pace of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, with his only six – a gorgeous lofted straight hit – coming off Steyn, the ball landing miles away.

Pietersen raised his 21st Test hundred, an innings typical of him where he threatened to get out at times, and in South Africa's second innings, even took career-best figures of 3/52. In a bold declaration, Graeme Smith asked England to chase 253 in 39 overs, and England sent Pietersen to open. Rain also played its part in a draw, as, ironically, Man of the Match Pietersen was dropped for the series decider at Lord's after accusations of sending derogatory texts to the opposition about his captain Andrew Strauss.

#3 129 – vs New Zealand, Napier 2008

A 129 from Kevin Pietersen set the base for an away series win after three years at Napier in 2008

Brief Scores: England 253 (Pietersen 129, Broad 42; Southee 5/55) and 467/7 dec (Strauss 177, Bell 110; Vettori 4/158) beat New Zealand 168 (Fleming 59; Sidebottom 7/47, Broad 3/54) and 431 (Southee 77*, Taylor 74; Panesar 6/126) by 121 runs

One of Pietersen's least remembered hundreds, this one gave England their first away Test series win after three years. At Napier, debutant Tim Southee and his colleagues had combined to reduce the visitors to 36/4. No huge partnership featured in this innings of 129 from Pietersen – associations of 89 with Paul Collingwood and 61 with Stuart Broad were the best – but constant ticking over of the scoreboard with the odd annoying boundary kept England in the hunt for a respectable score.

He departed after a knock comprising 12 fours and a six, laying the platform for a total of 253, and was especially harsh on the spin twins Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel. Ryan Sidebottom's career-best haul of 7/47 then put England 85 ahead, as, even though New Zealand hit 431 in pursuit of 553, a 2-1 lead for England became inevitable, with Pietersen's stay in the first innings setting the base for the win.

#2 116 – vs South Africa, Centurion 2005

Kevin Pietersen's third century of the ODI series in South Africa in 2005 was the then fastest for England

Brief Scores: South Africa 241/7 in 49 overs (Prince 62*, Smith 47; Wharf 2/51) beat England 240 in 49.5 overs (Pietersen 116, Giles 41; Hall 3/52) by 3 wickets

The seven-match series had so far seen everything – victories for South Africa and one for England, a tie as well as a washout. It also witnessed a bludgeoning Pietersen dictate terms with two rapid centuries in the six matches before this one at Centurion.

For the record, a third one arrived in the dead rubber with the series already gone for England. An unbeaten 108 off 96 balls at Bloemfontein resulted in scores being level, while the then fastest ODI hundred for the country – off 69 balls – in another undefeated innings of 100 saw England fall behind at East London.

And the script at Centurion was no different either. Pietersen contributed 116 from 110 balls – whacking 10 fours and 6 sixes – in a total of 240, which South Africa chased down nervously. Pietersen bashed the pacers at the death, creating a record for the most centuries in a bilateral series, though another loss resulted in a 1-4 series defeat.

#1 79 – vs Zimbabwe, Cape Town T20 2007

In the World T20 2007, Kevin Pietersen smacked 79 at double the pace, with the format turning to be child's play for him

Brief Scores: England 188/9 in 20 overs (Pietersen 79, Collingwood 37; Chigumbura 4/31) beat Zimbabwe 138/7 in 20 overs (Taylor 47, Sibanda 29; Mascarenhas 3/18) by 50 runs

Zimbabwe were on a high having knocked Australia over in their first match of the World T20 in 2007 and a win would have assured them of a place in the Super Eights. England, on their part, were playing their first game and had landed in trouble at 51/3. But by then, Pietersen had already begun with his masterful knock of 79 from merely 37 balls, and then added 100 with captain Paul Collingwood for the fourth wicket.

In exactly nine overs, the pair had resurrected England's innings, in which Pietersen smacked 7 fours and 4 sixes, as they ended on 188/9. Zimbabwe gave England a scare with the opening pair stitching 74 inside nine overs, but once Vusimusi Sibanda was dismissed, they fell apart to manage only 138/7. Pietersen was the Man of the Match, and the format would turn out to be a child's play for the adventurous batsman.