Kevin Pietersen played two matches for England A in the 2003-04 edition of the Duleep Trophy. (Picture Credit: Instagram/@kevinpietersen)
Pietersen was a member of the England A team that participated in the 2003-04 edition of the Duleep Trophy, and in four innings of two matches, he scored 345 runs.
Former England batter and captain Kevin Pietersen took to Instagram on Saturday to share a 20-year-old picture of him playing for England A in the Duleep Trophy. Pietersen was part of the James Tredwell-led side that participated in the 2003-04 edition of the Duleep Trophy, and in four innings, the legendary batter scored 345 runs with the help of two centuries.
The veteran of 104 Tests for England posted a cheeky caption along with the picture that read, “India 2004! Playing in the Duleep Trophy… This is when I first fell in love with India or should I say, Indian bowlers…!”
In the 2003-04 edition of the Duleep Trophy, Pietersen scored 104 and 115 runs in the first match played against South Zone in Gurgaon from February 21 to 24, 2004 and then hammered 32 and 94 runs in the second match against East Zone in Amritsar from February 27 to March 1.
However, despite his super show with the bat, England A suffered defeat in both matches and failed to qualify for the final of the premier domestic tournament in India.
The Pietermaritzburg-born cricketer, who is the sixth-leading run scorer for England in Test cricket, made his red-ball debut for the Poms on July 21, 2005, against Australia at Lord’s and scored half-centuries in both innings.
In his maiden Test series for England, Pietersen finished as the leading run scorer (473 runs in five matches) and helped the Michael Vaughan-led side get the better of Ricky Ponting & Co. to win the Ashes series.
He went on to play in a total of 104 Tests for England and scored 8181 runs.
KP’s record against India
Pietersen played 16 Tests for England against India, and with an average of 58.55, he scored 1581 runs. Of those 16 matches, he played nine Tests in India and scored 703 runs in 16 innings.
Overall in international cricket, he played 48 times against India and scored 2890 runs. He finished his career with seven centuries and 15 half-centuries against the Indian team, and his best score was 202 not out.