Top 5 Kevin Pietersen knocks in international cricket

#3 100* vs South Africa (2005) – ODI

Pietersen didn't get any support from the other end as England fell short by 7 runs

In 2005, England were battling hard to keep the 7-match ODI series alive against South Africa. After winning the first game and tying the second, England lost back-to-back games to be 2-1 down after four games.

In the 5th ODI, South Africa won the toss and opted to bat first. They posted a big total of 311. Graeme Smith scored a hundred (115) and Justin Kemp scored 80, while others chipped in with some useful contributions. Chasing anything over 300 was never going to be easy, but England were up for the fight.

England started off well but were reduced to 117/3 and at that moment Kevin Pietersen walked in. He gave his skipper Michael Vaughan very good company as the duo added 62 runs for the fourth wicket. But the wicket of Vaughan was a big blow for England.

However, Pietersen continued from his end even though wickets kept falling at regular intervals on the other end. He took the attack to the South African bowlers and scored a scintillating 100 off just 69 balls. His innings comprised of 7 fours and 4 sixes.

However, the South African-born didn’t find any support from the other end and his brilliant knock went in vain as England lost by 7 runs, trailing 1-3 in the series.