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England match-winner Pietersen insists he's fit
Kevin Pietersen moved to allay fitness concerns after guiding England to a six-wicket win over defending champions Pakistan in the opening Super 8 match.
- Agence France-Presse
- Updated: May 07, 2010 08:35 AM IST
Read Time: 2 min
Barbados:
Pietersen made a superb unbeaten 73 as England, chasing a target of 148 for victory, won with three balls to spare at the Kensington Oval on Thursday.
There, was however, a moment of worry for England early in Pietersen's innings when the South Africa born batsman hit his ankle with his bat and needed several minutes of on-field treatment.
But former Test captain Pietersen, who missed most of last year's Ashes triumph with an Achilles injury, played on to give England hope of reaching the semi-finals after what was their first victory in the tournament.
"The ankle is fine. When you win injuries you don't worry about - it's a great win by the boys today," he said.
Pietersen, who could leave the England squad at a moment's notice because his wife is expecting the couple's first child, added: "It's not an easy wicket, but I think our boys bowled really well on it.
"To go out there and perform on a day like today when it was crucial was great. It's two points for the boys and one more victory and maybe we can go to the semi-finals."
England captain Paul Collingwood was pleased by the way his bowlers reined in Pakistan after the title-holders started well with the bat.
"It was very good. One of the positives is that I think we can improve on that performance a little bit - but let's not get too carried away, we are delighted to get the win," Collingwood said.
"They got off to good start. One of our tactics on this wicket with a bit more pace was to bowl a bit shorter.
"It was probably more width than anything else that we gave them - they're areas we have to improve.
"But I'm delighted with the way we dragged back momentum in the middle there, we grabbed a few wickets and put them under pressure.
"There were a couple of things that were a little sloppy towards end, we could have got the runs a little quicker, but I'm delighted to win.
"It was a great innings today by KP, he's come in and hit the ball really hard from ball one today."
Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was left lamenting his team poor fielding which saw them drop five catches.
"We missed our opportunities and you can't afford to miss opportunities," he said.
"They really played well especially KP but if we take our opportunities then there is a lot of chance to win this game."
Kevin Pietersen moved to allay fitness concerns after guiding England to a six-wicket win over defending champions Pakistan in the opening Super Eights match of the World Twenty20.Pietersen made a superb unbeaten 73 as England, chasing a target of 148 for victory, won with three balls to spare at the Kensington Oval on Thursday.
There, was however, a moment of worry for England early in Pietersen's innings when the South Africa born batsman hit his ankle with his bat and needed several minutes of on-field treatment.
But former Test captain Pietersen, who missed most of last year's Ashes triumph with an Achilles injury, played on to give England hope of reaching the semi-finals after what was their first victory in the tournament.
"The ankle is fine. When you win injuries you don't worry about - it's a great win by the boys today," he said.
Pietersen, who could leave the England squad at a moment's notice because his wife is expecting the couple's first child, added: "It's not an easy wicket, but I think our boys bowled really well on it.
"To go out there and perform on a day like today when it was crucial was great. It's two points for the boys and one more victory and maybe we can go to the semi-finals."
England captain Paul Collingwood was pleased by the way his bowlers reined in Pakistan after the title-holders started well with the bat.
"It was very good. One of the positives is that I think we can improve on that performance a little bit - but let's not get too carried away, we are delighted to get the win," Collingwood said.
"They got off to good start. One of our tactics on this wicket with a bit more pace was to bowl a bit shorter.
"It was probably more width than anything else that we gave them - they're areas we have to improve.
"But I'm delighted with the way we dragged back momentum in the middle there, we grabbed a few wickets and put them under pressure.
"There were a couple of things that were a little sloppy towards end, we could have got the runs a little quicker, but I'm delighted to win.
"It was a great innings today by KP, he's come in and hit the ball really hard from ball one today."
Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was left lamenting his team poor fielding which saw them drop five catches.
"We missed our opportunities and you can't afford to miss opportunities," he said.
"They really played well especially KP but if we take our opportunities then there is a lot of chance to win this game."
Topics mentioned in this article
Cricket
England Cricket Team
Kevin Pietersen
Michael Clarke
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