"The second season is usually considered to be the toughest for an international batsman: opposing teams build up a database on his strengths and weaknesses, allowing bowlers to come back armed with plenty of strategies to ensure that the honeymoon period gives way more uncomfortable and harsher truths. With Pietersen, however, the reverse has been true: after averaging 44.93 in eight Tests in 2005, he scored 53.72 per innings in 14 Tests in 2006, while 2007 has been a veritable bounty so far - two hundreds, including a double, and an average of 86.20 in three Tests."
How a team's inconsistency can shadow an individual player's consistent brilliance. But for S Rajesh's numerical revelation some of us were missing out on Kevin Pietersen's continued success against all top bowlers in the world since his debut. English supporters may argue that their team have not done too badly over this period but have hardly returned the Test results expected of a bowling side of their potential.
A few more years of this and Pietersen may find it difficult to retain his chirp. Some day when his team struggles yet again even as he sizzles he may feel the need to talk to an inversely dispositioned man with similar batting traits who faced the same predicament for over a decade in his marathon career - Sachin Tendulkar. I'm sure 'The Buddha of Cricket' can offer valuable insight on how he went about it without losing focus.
And just in case the paradox gets any longer than that, KP would do well to store the number of Brain Lara.
