KP just nutty about his knock

Kevin Pietersen rated his ninth Test century as the best innings of his career.

Kevin Pietersen hit his ninth Test hundred to put England in charge of the first Test at Lord's and rated his knock the best of his career.

The Hampshire batsman's 134 helped England make 282 in their second innings on day four, leaving India with an unlikely 380-run target on Monday.

"That was right out of the top drawer," Pietersen said of his first ton at Headquarters. "I would probably rate that as number one.

"The conditions were as testing as I have had in international cricket last night and this morning.

"You could see by my celebrations how happy I was because that really was a difficult time for batting.

"After lunch the conditions were a bit better, their bowlers were a bit more tired and there was an opportunity for us to go through the gears to get a total to set the Test match up."

After a recent mini-slump with the bat, Pietersen was clearly happy to have hit top form again.

"Every single time I turn up for a training session, every single time I turn up for an international I will never ever shy away," he added. "I am committed to everything I do for this country, everything I do for this team, to win a Test match, to win a one-day game."

Pietersen appeared to intervene when former India skipper Sourav Ganguly and England captain Michael Vaughan exchanged words as the players left the field, but the hosts' centurion insisted: "International sport is tough, played by tough competitors.

"He is a tough competitor, Michael is a tough competitor and they were exchanges of words which happen all day, every day on a sports field."