Pietersen's innings one of the best: Jayawardene

Sri Lankan captain and Delhi Daredevils vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene rated Kevin Pietersen's maiden hundred in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the best Twenty20 innings he has ever seen.

Mahela Jayawardene. Photo: Atul Kamble

Pietersen smashed 103 off 64 balls as the Daredevils beat the Chargers by five wickets for their fourth consecutive win in the tournament here Thursday night at the Ferozeshah Kotla.

"KP (Pietersen) played exceptionally well. Last night's knock from KP is one of the best I have seen. It was a very good game yesterday," Mahela said on the sidelines of an promotional event here Friday.

Jayawardene also jumped in defence of his skipper Virender Sehwag, who hasn't played a long innings so far in the tournament.

"Sehwag is batting really well. He has given us very good starts. He is like that. You can't expect him to play this way every day," said Jayawardene.

The Sri Lankan captain was all praise for Sehwag's aggressive captaincy.

"Viru (Sehwag) is a good leader, very aggressive. He expects us to play aggressively. We have had a good start to the tournament. It is a long tournament hence we need to keep the consistency going," he said.u00a0