Kevin Pietersen prevails as England dominate Sri Lanka on the Third Day of the Third Test - England v Sri Lanka - Cricket News Update
England’s all-rounder, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kevin-Peter-Pietersen-c71169, found his form just in time for the third clash of the three-match Test series between England and Sri Lanka.
He played a gutsy knock of 85-runs at Southampton on June 18, 2011, helping his side overcome a tally of 184 runs, posted by the tourists.
Pietersen who has been having a bad patch with the bat, needed an innings like this to silence his critics, who had been doubting his place in the English side.
In the first Test at Cardiff, although England won, Pietersen failed to contribute anything in his side’s prolific victory as he managed to score only three runs before being judged leg-before wicket (lbw) on a delivery by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Herath-Mudiyanselage-Rangana-Keerthi-Bandara-Herath-c62873.
The second Test wasn’t any better for the struggling batsman either as he failed to impress again. Pietersen could only pull off a pair before walking back to the pavilion in the first innings, while in the second innings he showed some signs of a resurgent
form as he smashed 72 runs off 124 deliveries. However, his effort went in vain as the contest ended in a draw.
Now, however, his latest innings of 85, on a rain hit day, has shown that he has regained his temperament to bat under tough and frustrating conditions. Batting is never easy when the play keeps getting interrupted due to rain and this is why Pietersen’s
innings holds even more importance.
Pietersen along with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Alastair-Nathan-Cook-c42852 contributed 106 runs for the third wicket partnership, which actually was the highlight of the day as it gave the rain drenched crowd something to cheer about.
Even when KP was edging towards a century, he refused to slow down and kept smacking the Sri Lankan bowlers whenever he got the chance.
Later in the day, while still trying to go after the Lankan bowlers, the English all-rounder edged a delivery bowled by Thisara Perera for wicketkeeper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/HAPW-Jayawardene-c1529 to pounce on.
With the current form, if Pietersen bats in England’s second innings he is sure to bring some more fireworks to the game.
At the end of the third day, England have an eleven run lead on http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758, with six wickets in hand.
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