Mumbai: Kevin Pietersen & Co. had a near-perfect outing as England thrashed a select Mumbai XI by a whopping 122 runs in the first of their two practice one-day games here at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday. Star all-rounder Andrew Flintoff came to the party to smack 100 (85b, 12x4, 1x6) as his side posted 297 for four in 50 overs.
England got all they wanted; a typical Indian batting beauty of a pitch and enough practice. In fact, they were lucky to have faced two medium-pacers, a left-arm spinner, an off-spinner and even a leg-spinner. The only blot was their inability to dismiss the Nilesh Kulkarni-led side.
After being offered the chance to bat, England weren't exactly off to a flier as expected. The ball was moving in the first hour and medium-pacer. Vinit Sinha made the most of the conditions, castling Matt Prior with an in-swinger in the fifth over.
Brief Score: England XI 297 for 4 (Flintoff 100*, Shah 83) beat Mumbai XI 175 (Shetye 50, Anderson 3-15) by 122 runs.