A very special innings: Pietersen

New Delhi, (The Telegraph): Delhi DareDevils' Kevin Pietersen, who scored his maiden T20 century against Deccan Chargers on Thursday, described the knock as a "special innings."

Pietersen smashed his ninth six straight back down the wicket to score the winning runs with five balls to spare, taking his tally to 103 and Delhi's to 162 for five, four clear of their target for victory.

Pietersen smashes hundred in Delhi win
Pietersen's innings one of the best: Jayawardene

The England batsman needed just 64 balls to bring up three figures, and his masterful innings covered for the failures of others as only Yogesh Nagar, unbeaten at the close on 23, and Ross Taylor (13) made it into double figures for the DareDevils.

Pietersen's previous T20 best had been a 79 for England against Zimbabwe in 2007. "This is absolutely amazing, this is what dreams are made of," Pietersen said. "You come here as an England player and it's very, very intimidating but to come here and have all these fans cheering for you is very special.

"That was my first Twenty20 100 so it will be pretty hard to beat."

The following are excerpts:

On the century

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 one of my favourite knocks. I had centuries in one-day cricket and Tests but never in a T20 match. So, this innings would remain a very special one.

His best six of the day

(Laughs) Well, all of them were good and were hit for winning the match. But the one I hit off Amit Mishra that landed into the stands was the best.

The wicket

It was good wicket to bat on and also good for the pacers who bent their back. But there was not much for the spinners. In T20, you need an entertaining wicket.

Why he was more aggressive in the later stages of his innings

I played according to 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 on the field. And when you lose wickets, you slow down. We were under pressure after Ross Taylor was out. To tell you frankly, I don't plan too much...I believe in keeping it simple. I go there and hit the ball for winning the match.

On left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem

He bowled a good spell in the last match taking three for nine against the Mumbai Indians. He was fantastic today. He changes his angle and is a clever bowler. There have been talks of who could be the spinner of IPL-V and he could turn out to be a superstar.

Deccan Chargers' winless run

I feel sorry for the Deccan Chargers...They played good cricket, they are a good team and could have won in Mumbai but I think there's still a long way to go and all is not lost for them.