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KP ton pushes England to 270

26/11/2008

Kevin Pietersen returned to form with an unbeaten 111 in the fifth ODI against India, as England posted 270-4 in Cuttack.

The captain came into bat after recalled Alastair Cook was dismissed for just ten runs with the score on 33.

He started explosively with a flurry of boundaries but the loss of opener Ravi Bopara for 24 slowed the runrate down as he and Paul Collingwood sought to consolidate.

His predecessor in the skipper's role looked tentative initially and struggled to get off the mark.

But Collingwood recovered to provide much-needed stability at one end as Pietersen carefully compiled his ton, before eventually succumbing to Harbhajan Singh for 40.

Andrew Flintoff's departure shortly afterwards for a disappointing duck reduced England to 158-4 with less than 20 overs left.

The threat of another disappointing collapse failed to materialise, however, thanks to an unbeaten 112-run partnership between Pietersen and Owais Shah (60 not out) giving England a competitive total.

A powerplay beginning in the 41st over spurred the pair on, with Pietersen getting a single six overs later to secure his seventh ODI century.