A sparkling unbeaten 90 by Kevin Pietersen led England to a thrilling three-wicket victory over holders West Indies in their final Champions Trophy Group A match on Saturday.
Pietersen helped England chase down a difficult target under lights, finishing on 276 for seven with nine balls remaining to record their first win of a disappointing tournament.
Earlier, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo scored centuries as West Indies piled up 272 for four after opting to bat first.
Andrew Strauss (50) and Ian Bell (50) gave England a flying start to their reply, putting on 82 for the first wicket by the 12th over.
Off spinners Gayle and Marlon Samuels shared five wickets to apply the brakes but Pietersen and Sajid Mahmood saw England home after coming together with 41 needed off 32 balls.
West Indies had already qualified for the semifinals. They meet South Africa in Jaipur on November 2.
Sunday’s clash between Australia and India will determine the second team to advance from Group A.
Strauss was bowled by Gayle before Bell and captain Andrew Flintoff added 44 runs for the second wicket.
Man of the match Gayle had Flintoff caught at long-on before he removed Paul Collingwood for a duck.
Bell was then run out by skipper Brian Lara at mid-on after sharing a stand of 35 with Pietersen.
Samuels dismissed Michael Yardy and Jamie Dalrymple before Chris Read fell to Bravo.
But the swashbuckling Pietersen brought the scores level with a six over long-off from Bravo’s bowling before clinching victory with a four.
Gayle (101) and Bravo (112 not out) earlier hit the first centuries in the group stages of the tournament.
The hundred from Gayle was his 14th in one-dayers while Bravo’s was his first. The duo shared a dominant stand of 174 for the second wicket against an England attack minus the rested Steve Harmison.
A big plus for England, especially in view of next month’s Ashes series in Australia, was the bowling of Flintoff.
The 28-year-old all rounder, who underwent surgery after suffering an ankle injury in June, had not bowled since the home Test series against Sri Lanka.
Flintoff looked comfortable as he completed five overs in two spells, returning figures of nought for 27. – Reuters