Kevin Pietersen made 158 in his first Ashes Test appearance at The Oval — including sixes off Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath — to help England draw the final Test and win their first Ashes since 1987.
England were 127/5 in their first innings when Kevin Pietersen — playing only his second Ashes Test — came to the crease. Australia needed to dismiss England cheaply to set a realistic second-innings target. Shane Warne had been bowling brilliantly throughout the series.
Pietersen attacked from the first ball. He hit Warne over the short boundary. He pulled McGrath for six. He drove through the covers with such elegance that Richie Benaud said it was the finest driving he had seen in the Ashes in decades.
His 158 off 187 balls dragged England to 373. Australia then made 367. England batted out the match in their second innings, surviving the final day with 7 wickets — Ashley Giles and Matthew Hoggard defending grimly against Warne and McGrath's final Ashes assault.
England drew the match. They won the Ashes 2-1. Pietersen was Man of the Match. The series that Edgbaston had turned and Headingley had confirmed, The Oval finished.
England 127/5 — Pietersen comes to the crease against Warne and McGrath
Pietersen hitting Warne for six — the image of the innings
158 off 187 — England to 373, Ashes drawn, series won
September 8, 2005
The Oval Test begins — England batting
England 127/5
Pietersen arrives — Warne and McGrath bowling
September 10, 2005
Pietersen out for 158 — England 373
September 12, 2005
England save the match — Ashes retained after 18 years
The innings that sealed England's first Ashes in 18 years — an extraordinary performance under the greatest pressure, by a player who had never previously been in an Ashes-deciding innings. Pietersen's 158 is as important to the 2005 Ashes as Botham's 149 was to 1981.
The 2005 Ashes is the series that saved Test cricket's popularity in England. Pietersen's innings is the moment within the series that secured it. The image of him hitting Warne over the short boundary at The Oval is the picture of the decade in English cricket.
Australia vs West Indies
1960-12-14
The first tied Test in 86 years of cricket history — Australia and West Indies finished level on 737 runs each after five days of breathless cricket in Brisbane, producing one of the most dramatic finishes the game has ever seen.
India vs Australia
1986-09-22
Twenty-six years after Brisbane, cricket produced only its second tied Test — Dean Jones's heroic 210 through crippling heat and Dean Jones's fever, Ravi Shastri's unbeaten 48 and India needing 2 off the last over, only for Maninder Singh to be out lbw off the final ball.
Australia vs South Africa
1999-06-17
Lance Klusener smashed Australia to the brink of elimination, then ran out Allan Donald off the penultimate ball to tie the match — but Australia advanced to the final on superior run rate, ending South Africa's greatest World Cup campaign in devastating fashion.