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'My first century in T20 cricket has to be my favourite'
Kevin Pietersen on Thursday described his swashbuckling unbeaten century as one of his favourite innings, which helped Delhi Daredevils register a five-wicket win over Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League at Ferozshah Kotla.
"It is amazing, a special feeling to score a century in T20 cricket. This is my first in this format, so it has to be my favourite," Pietersen told reporters after smashing an unbeaten 64-ball 103, his first in Twenty20 cricket, to help Daredevils register their fourth victory in IPL V.
"It is good to get a century in T20 cricket. It was a good wicket to bat on and also good for the pacers who bent their back, not much for the spinners. In Twenty20 you need entertaining wicket," he added.
'I played as per the situation'
The former England skipper, who was adjudged Man-of-the-Match for his whirlwind ton, said he tried to play according to the situation.
"I played as per the situation. Once you get yourself in there, you can get the boundaries. I was in good form against Sri Lanka and it is all about backing yourself in the field," Pietersen said.
"When you lose wicket, you slow down and Ross's (Taylor) wicket put pressure on me. They (Deccan) played good cricket," he added.
'I feel sorry for Deccan Chargers'
The 31-year-old English batsman also heaped praise on young spinner Shahbaz Nadeem, who returned with figures of three for 16 from his four overs.
"He bowled a good spell in the last match taking three for nine against Mumbai. He was fantastic today as well.
"He changes his angle and is a clever bowler. There were talks of who could be the spinner of IPL V and he is turning out to be a superstar," Pietersen said.
Asked about Deccan Chargers, Pietersen said, "I feel sorry for Deccan. They played good cricket, they are a good team and could have won in Mumbai but I think it is still a long way to go and nothing is lost for them."
'Kevin took the game away from us'
Deccan coach Darren Lehmann blamed his butterfingered fielders for the loss and said the three dropped catches of Pietersen proved costly for his team.
"Our fielding is not good enough. You can't drop Kevin. It was one of the best innings that we have seen and when you drop someone like him, it costs you the game," he said.
"We bowled well early on but Kevin took the game away from us. In the 12th-13th over we lost our way because of some poor decisions," he added. The Australian said his team was 20 runs short in the end.
"We were probably 20 runs short with the bat. We are playing 90 per cent but we need to put another 10 per cent. But I am not disheartened yet. We are playing good cricket. It is a young side but we are not finishing well," he said.