Pietersen ton seals whitewash

In the backdrop of a 3-0 drubbing in the Tests, England were written off and many had predicted that they would even struggle to compete against Pakistan in the ODI series. But, Alistair Cook’s men silenced their critics with a commanding performance by sweeping the series 4-0.

On an individual level, Kevin Petersen did the same by posting back to back centuries. If the first one signaled his return to form, the second was from a man in prime as he single-handedly helped England overhaul a modest 238-run target. His career best 130 saved his team after a major hiccup had reduced them to 68 for 4.

When England began what was a modest chase, they had to factor in the spinning options Misbah could use on a tired surface. They needed a confident start before Ajmal and company got into the act. Before that, they had to encounter Junaid Khan, Pakistan’s lone seamer. Alistair Cook slapped the first ball from the left armer past point for a boundary but was surprised by the next delivery, a searing inducker that hit his pads. Services of the television umpire were required and he upheld the LBW appeal. Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen took the score to fifty before Abdur Rehman had the former caught off a top-edge.

Soon, Saeed Ajmal was pressed into service and for an over or two it seemed we were transported back into time. Ajmal toyed with the English batsmen with his canny variations, refreshing scenes of the recently concluded Test series. Eoin Morgan was pinned in front playing slightly across the line. Jos Butler, playing his first innings one-day cricket, had no idea about a delivery that turned sharply and offered a simple catch to short-leg. He made a blob as the twin strike by Ajmal threatened to derail the chase.

All the while, Pietersen had looked the most assured visiting batsman on display. His confidence showed in his foot work. Decisively forward or back, he faced the spinners calmly, and looked every bit a batsman with a century in the previous game. But, he required some support from the other end to keep the chase going. In Craig Kieswetter, he found a partner willing to play the supporting role.

The two saved England from a precarious 68 for 4 with 109-run stand that was sufficient to dent Pakistan’s chances of staging a comeback. Kieswetter was run-out on 43 but Pietersen stayed till the end. In the process, the aggressive batsmen notched up his second consecutive hundred in the series. He was out with only two runs needed for the victory, which came from Tim Bresnan’s bat. The target was achieved with four balls to spare.

Earlier, Pakistan squandered the opportunity to build on platform laid by youngsters Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali, who added 111 for the second wicket as they lost their last six wickets for 35 to be restricted to below-par 237. While some of the Pakistan batsmen were responsible for their own demise, a rejigged English attack capitalized to nip out wickets at regular intervals. Comeback man Jade Dernbach starred with figures of four for 45.

Pakistan were forced to make multiple changes in the team composition after many players were down with flu. Among the lot that missed out was Imran Farhat. In his place, Azhar Ali was promoted as opener. His partner, Mohammad Hafeez was the first one to fall after Misbah elected to bat first. Dernbach lured Hafeez into a loose push in the second over and the resulting edge was gobbled up by the wicket keeper. The first wicket fell when Pakistan had only a single on the board.

The early wicket brought together two young batsmen, Ali and Shafiq, who had shown their mettle in the Test series by playing sensibly in trying conditions. They had to do the same here with the added pressure of scoring briskly. Even though Azhar was little slow in his approach, Shafiq hit some flowing strokes during a century stand that revitalized the innings only for their middle order to fritter away the advantage.

On 65, Shafiq tried to cut one pitched up slightly but dragged it on. Even though, he looked set for a bigger knock but Shafiq provided the innings some early momentum. Umar Akmal sent in at number four, struggled to get going and fell in an attempt to clear the ropes. He became Danny Briggs’ first victim in international cricket. Azhar was out shortly afterwards as England began to tighten the screws with parsimonious bowling from either end.

Thereafter, Pakistan couldn’t get the innings going at any stage. Shoaib Malik showed no sign of returning to form and Shahid Afridi was brilliantly caught by Tim Bresnan in the deep. Only Misbah-ul-Haq tried to salvage the situation but his 52-ball 46 couldn’t lift his team to a challenging total.