Pietersen eager to be a chip off the Wall

When Kevin Pietersen says he wants to be positive in defense, it doesn8217;t come as a surprise that the aggressive England middle-order batsman hasn8217;t batted his eyelids when Rahul Dravid has been at the crease.

When Kevin Pietersen says he wants to be positive in defense, it doesn8217;t come as a surprise that the aggressive England middle-order batsman hasn8217;t batted his eyelids when Rahul Dravid has been at the crease. With scores of 15, 62, 87 and 4 in the Test series so far, Pietersen and England are desperate for a Dravid-like long and solid innings in the Mumbai Test starting on Saturday.

8216;8216;With an average of 58, Dravid is as consistent as one can get. He is solid and brings bed and breakfast to the pitch. That8217;s the reason he scores all those big scores,8217;8217; he says.

It8217;s those missing big scores from the England side that have been the reason for England being 0-1 down in this series. Former England captains like Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton have repeatedly insisted that it is only a 400-plus score in the first innings that can see a visiting team win in the sub-continent. But three days before Pietersen gets his last chance to get his three-figure mark in the series at the Wankhede Stadium, he seemed like a man in two minds. Just after the positive in defense statement, Pietersen talked about him being an instinctive player.

8216;8216;Instinct plays a big role in the way I play. I do know that in some key moments I have to play with a lot more caution. But then again, when England have been in trouble over the last two years I have done well in those situations.8217;8217;

Things seemed to be going as planned in the first innings at Mohali when Pietersen was on 64 and England 157/3. He was half way into playing a Dravid-like innings while England too seemed on way to that 400-plus score. But as Munaf Patel had him caught and bowled, the tables turned and England were all out for 300. Unlike the first Test at Nagpur where Paul Collingwood and Alastair Cook scored centuries, Mohali saw no English centurion and this disparity meant different results in the two Tests.

But the swashbuckling middle-order batsman who had a sensational Ashes debut says he is a changed man. Elevation in the batting order due to the injury to captain Michael Vaughan means he has become more responsible. 8216;8216;I think I played pretty responsibly. I missed out in the first innings at Nagpur, probably a silly shot, but that8217;s how I play, so that probably is going to happen sometimes. And then playing for the team I got out on 87 in the second innings. If I had been selfish, I could probably have gone to 100,8217;8217; he says.

At Wankhede on Saturday there will be one man who will be assured of reaching the 100 mark 8212; Dravid playing his 100th Test. Along with the thousands in stands, there will be a 10-Test-old rookie who is ready to bring his bed and breakfast to keep an eye on him.