Kevin Pietersen becoming the Player of the Tournament in the 2010 edition of the World T20 in the West Indies fitted the batsman’s reputation well. His dominance was instrumental in England’s victory, and his smiling countenance on the day of the triumph would remain one of the memorable images from the tournament.
He had said in an interview to Cricinfo then, “Incredible really. It will only sink in, in a few weeks’ time or when I see my little boy to see and hold, everything will probably sink in. Right now, in the dressing room, we will celebrate as a team but things only seem to sink in a few days later or a week later. Hopefully the ash cloud will stay away and we can get back to our families on Tuesday because it’s one thing celebrating with the lads but you also want your families around you to celebrate such a successful time.”
Pietersen’s brand of batting stood out. He played some rousing shots in his knock against Pakistan and in the final against Australia. His timing was awesome, and his range of strokes allowed him to pick the gaps at will. As he remarked in the interview, “It’s humbling, for sure. You’ve got to savour things like this. It’s difficult to believe. But Player-of-the-Series is just something given to one person. The team is the most important. One bloke gets a lovely trophy, but if it was not for the team I wouldn’t be sitting here.”
Pietersen, an outspoken cricketer, recounts the World Cup triumph with mixed feelings in his autobiography, KP: The Autobiography. He gives credit to skipper Paul Collingwood and remembers taking leave from the team to see his newborn son in London. On return, Pietersen excelled against Sri Lanka in the semi-final and Australia in the final.
Vijay Lokapally
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