Dubai, Feb 22: Kevin Pietersen scored his second century in as many matches as England beat Pakistan by four wickets Tuesday to sweep the one-day international series 4-0.
Pietersen hit 130 off 153 balls, his highest ODI score, and he teamed up with Craig Kieswetter (43) for a 109-run partnership as England eclipsed Pakistan's total of 237 with four balls remaining at Dubai Sport City.
"It was probably the best innings I've played," said Pietersen, who scored 111 not out in the third ODI on Saturday. "I think you need experience and runs in order to keep the situation very simple and back your ability. When I saw they were playing 40 overs of spin I thought, 'Oh no.' But I've spent hours and hours with Mushy (England spin coach Mushtaq Ahmed) to sort out the issue.
"I thoroughly enjoyed this."
It was England's first whitewash against Pakistan in a limited-over series in 25 years. The result somewhat unexpected given Pakistan beat England 3-0 in the test series and India beat England 5-0 in a recent ODI series.
"It was a really good comeback," England captain Alastair Cook said. "I said at the beginning of series that if we are going to turn this around, we need people to stand up and be counted. I think a number of us have done that in the side. Pakistan had won 14 out of 15 one-dayers in a row. For us to win 4-0 in subcontinent-like conditions is a fantastic achievement for us."
Earlier, Pakistan was bowled out for 237 on the final ball of the innings after Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq hit half-centuries.
Ali (58) and Shafiq (65) put on 111 for the second wicket to give Pakistan a platform, but England's bowling attack stemmed the runs in the middle order.
Jade Dernbach took 4-45, while Danny Briggs, making his international debut, finished with 2-39.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq kept the innings intact with 46 from 52 balls but wickets kept falling around him.
Eoin Morgan made a diving catch at point for Ali to fall to Dernbach. Bresnan made another fine catch to remove Shahid Afridi on 9, before the batsman had time to rally Pakistan's tail.
In response, England made a dismal start when Cook was out lbw on review for 4. Cook, who has been added to the Twenty20 squad due to an injury to batsman Ravi Bopara, had scored centuries in first two matches and a half-century in the third.
But Pietersen and Kieswetter turned things around. England was also helped by allrounder Samit Patel hitting 17 runs not out.
Misbah praised England's batting but also blamed his team's top-order failures and fielding lapses for the whitewash.
"England really batted well after the test series and started playing the spinners well," Misbah said. "They got four centuries in four matches and that is the main difference between the two teams."
