Pietersen signs off with hope of resurgence

Star England player Kevin Pietersen, who played his last match in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) Wednesday, called the tournament the 'best academy' for youngsters looking to graduate to Test cricket.The Royal Challengers skipper said he was happy to sign off on a winning note, having beaten Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets, and hoped that the team would bounce back in the tournament."I absolutely love this tournament. It is the best academy for youngsters in the world. No coach can teach what the young players are learning here. For these guys who are looking to play Test cricket some day you cannot ask for anything better," said Pietersen after Challengers ended their four-match losing streak.Pietersen was the most expensive IPL player along with his England teammate Andrew Flintoff with a price tag of $1.55 million.After finishing at the bottom of the tournament last year, Royal Challengers team owner Vijay Mallya handed Pietersen the captaincy of the team, replacing Rahul Dravid with him.Challengers started with a bang, inflicting a huge 75-run loss to defending champions Rajasthan Royals in the first match.

But then they lost the plot and lost some close matches with Pietersen's own form deserting him."It did not go our way in some of those close matches. But the boys did put in everything. Some of these young guys are fantastic. Today the tactics worked for us. Hopefully, the team will bounce back from here.""There is still work to do. We need to improve. I am sure the team will use the momentum and take it from here.""There were a lot of positives. Boucher and young Shreevats were fantastic."

Pietersen, who had a tough season this year, having lost the England captaincy after a bitter controversy with the coach, will fly back to England for the series against West Indies.



Pietersen said that he will carry good memories from the tournament and look to return next year.

royal challengers bangalore vs kolkata knight riders:rcb won a thriller

kokata knight riders batting

royal challengers batting

Bangalore Royal Challengers overcame some anxious moments before snatching a thrilling five-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL on Wednesday.After restricting Kolkata to a modest 139 for six which largely revolved around Chris Gayle's knock of 40 and Morne van Wyk's unbeaten 44, Royal Challengers overhauled the target with just one ball to spare to record their second win in the tournament.In the battle of the laggards, the RCB had the last laugh and the narrow victory has given them a hope of riving their fortunes in the high-profile event.Bangalore openers Shreevats Goswami and South African all-rounder Jaques Kallis laid a strong foundation with a 69-run partnership off 67 balls.Goswami was in a punishing mode as the left-hander sent Ajit Agarkar out of the ground on two successive occasions in fourth over before hitting two boundaries off left-arm spinner Murali Kartik in the next over.

Goswami, who adorned his 46-ball 43 with six boundaries, found good support from Kallis (23) as the duo showed a consummate ease in rotating the strike to the frustration of Kolkata skipper Brendon McCullum.Hodge tasted the first success for the Knight Riders as he broke the opening partnership by sending back Goswami in 12th over as his turning delivery kissed the willow to wicketkeeper van Wyk. The proceedings took an interesting turn when Bangalore received three jolts within 38 runs with Hodge striking twice.Kallis fell prey to paceman Ishant Sharma, followed by two cheap dismissals of skipper Kevin Pietersen (13) and Virat Kohli (19).With 10 runs required from the last over off Chris Gayle, the experienced Mark Boucher held his nerve to hit a boundary followed by two doubles with Manish Pandey (2 not out) before wrapping up the affair by sending the ball to the fence.

Earlier, Bangalore skipper Pietersen decided to share the new ball with spinner Roelof van der Merwe which paid dividends as the Kolkata team suffered a huge blow when skipper Brandon McCullum departed off the very first delivery of the match.McCullum tried to start on an attacking note but his ambitious cut off Pietersen found Virat Kohli at backward point as the latter pouched a well-judged catch.Brad Hodge then joined opener Chris Gayle in the middle before Anil Kumble struck in the sixth over, just when the duo were struggling to repair the innings.Kumble sent Hodge packing (17 off 15) as the batsman failed to make out a drifting delivery off the former India skipper which found the Australian trapped in front of the stumps. Ganguly (1) disappointed when his team was expecting a timely knock from the left-hander who went after Praveen Kumar before his lofted shot landed in safe hand of South African Jaques Kallis.

However, van Wyk and Wridhiman Saha stitched a crucial 40-run partnership when the Kolkata side was struggling at 70 for 4 following the departure of Gayle.Van Wyk played some delectable strokes and smote the ball into fence on six occasions before Goswami ran behind to pouch a spectacular catch near the fence in the 12th over off KP Appanna.The experienced Kumble broke the partnership when he dismissed Saha for 21, which he made off 14 balls and with the help of one six, as Pietersen took an easy catch in the 17th over.It was a good show from Bangalore's bowlers as wickets at regular intervals stopped the Kolkata team from posting a fighting total.For Bangalore, Kumble managed two wickets for just 16 runs while Pietersen and van der Merwe managed one each. Praveen Kumar and KP Appanna also bagged a wicket each.