Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has heaped praise on Keegan Pietersen for his consistent performance in the 3-match Test series. The South African batsman played a match-winning knock of 82 runs in Cape Town on Friday as the hosts won the match by 7 wickets to take the series 2-1. The 28-year-old won the player of the match award for his twin fifties at Newlands, which helped the Proteas beat India in a big way.
Not only in the decisive third Test, Pietersen was a batting mainstay in almost every game against India. He scored 276 runs in six innings, including three half-centuries. Pundits were quite impressed with the way he looked after the South African batting in the testing conditions.
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Speaking with Star Sports, Gambhir outlined Pietersen’s contribution, especially after Quinton de Kock pulled out of his Test career after the first match of the series.
“He definitely looks like a future star for South Africa. The Proteas lost de Kock but Pietersen’s form and contribution have been impressive in their series win. For me, he was the standout player for the hosts. I think a player’s form is more important than his reputation. In international sport, after all, it’s all about form. If you have good form, you can tackle any batting unit,” Gambhir said on Star Sports.
“Also, you have to give your bowlers enough runs on the board to defend. We expected a total of 300-350 from the Indian batting unit, but we didn’t live up to the expectations of the batsmen. India managed to cross the 300-run mark only once in the series during the first match of the series at Centurion.
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Pietersen was also adjudged the Player of the Series for his valor. Speaking at the post-match presentation, he said that the sentiment had not subsided yet.
“It hasn’t dipped yet. To be honest it’s a mixed bag. Happy, emotional. I was trying to be positive and then build on that. It’s been tough situations all around and just stuck to my guns It’s been a long journey, can’t tell the full story now, won’t end until tomorrow morning,” Peterson said.
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