Pietersen was England’s top batsman during his nine-year career, and one of the best batsmen in international cricket overall. He wound up with 8181 runs in 104 Tests, making him a part of England’s top five run-scorers of all time.

Asked by journalist Ayaz Memon to rank the 186 he made in the Mumbai Test during England’s 2012-13 tour of India, Pietersen said it would be second best and went on to name his top three performances in the format.

[caption id=”attachment_130949″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] Kevin Pietersen was among the top batsmen of his generation[/caption]

Though he has three double-centuries, none of them made the list. The 186, in Pietersen’s estimate, was his second-best knock, followed by his 158 during the historic 2005 Ashes at The Oval. The top spot was reserved for his 151 against Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo in 2012.

In that knock, Pietersen countered an on-a-rampage Rangana Herath to give England a 185-run first-innings lead and set up their series-levelling eight-wicket win. Pietersen was England’s highest scorer in the series, with 226 at 75.33.

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Just a few short months later, he made the 186 in Mumbai, in similar circumstances, defying another left-arm spinner on the loose in Pragyan Ojha, and giving England the first-innings lead and a series-levelling win. Pietersen finished behind Cook as England’s second-highest run-scorer in the series, and thanks to his efforts, England picked up a rare series win in India.

The 2005 Ashes saw Pietersen at his best, as he racked up 473 runs in five Tests, finishing on top of the run charts in a series widely considered to be the best since the turn of the century.