Kevin Pietersen was delighted after scoring his maiden T20 century, which helped Delhi Daredevils beat Deccan Chargers by five wickets in an IPL-V match at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground here on Thursday.
“It is amazing, a special feeling to score a century in T20 cricket. This is my first in this format, so this has to be a favourite,” Pietersen said at the post-match press conference.
Among his nine sixes, Pietersen picked the one hit straight to the stands off Amit Mishra as his favourite.
Pietersen explained why he stepped up the scoring rate after reaching his half-century. “I played as per the situation. I had to pick up the runs. I was in good form against Sri Lanka and it is all about backing yourself in the field.”
“When you lose wickets, you slow down and Ross (Taylor)'s wicket put pressure,” he said.
Pietersen praised young Daredevils spinner Shahbaz Nadeem, who returned fabulous figures of three for 16. “He bowled a good spell in the last match taking three for nine against Mumbai. He was fantastic today. He changes his angle and is a clever bowler. There were talks of who could be the spinner of IPL-V and he is turning out to be a superstar.”
Pietersen said Chargers was a good team but was unlucky not to win any match yet.
Chargers' coach Darren Lehmann said dropping too many catches did not help the side. “Our fielding was not good enough. You can't drop Kevin. It was one of the best innings that we have seen and when you drop someone like him, it costs you the game,” he said.
“We bowled well early on but Kevin took the game away from us,” Lehamann added.
