Kevin Pietersen underlines his class

With two important contributions, Kevin Pietersen underlined the difference between the two sides as he led England to a convincing win in their opening Super Eights game against Pakistan. His first highlight was an incredible running catch in the outfield to send back the in-form Umar Akmal. Pietersen ran a long way from straightish midwicket and timed his jump perfectly to pouch the ball before ensuring he did not cross the ropes as he fell. The dismissal killed Pakistan's momentum and their innings never really recovered.

With the bat, Pietersen returned to form with a confident 52-ball 73 not out, and made Pakistan pay on a day when their fielding wilted. He got into the groove quickly, dictating terms to the opposition, by slapping their captain Shahid Afridi's offering for four through the covers. He then trained his guns on Abdul Razzaq, tapping a length ball to fine leg and hammering a short one to the cover boundary for fours. He smashed the spin of Saeed Ajmal and Afridi for straight sixes, the second shot bringing his fifty in quick time. Mohammad Asif was expected to bolster Pakistan's bowling machinery in this game, but Pietersen was in no mood to spare the fast bowler, looting boundaries off him in the 17th over as the result became a formality.

In the final analysis, Pietersen's substantial performance proved to be the difference between the teams. Pakistan failed to capitalise on starts, and their fielders put down important catches. On the day, Pietersen showed them how it should be done.