ICC World Twenty20, 30 April-16 MayVenues: Guyana, St Lucia and BarbadosCoverage:plus text commentary and reports on the BBC Sport website & mobiles
England set their sights on a place in the World Twenty20 semi-finals after beating Pakistan in their opening Super Eight match in Barbados.
Kevin Pietersen’s unbeaten 73 helped England to a comfortable six-wicket win over the defending champions.
They next face South Africa in their penultimate Super Eight match on Saturday and another win could seal their place in the last four.
"One more victory and maybe we can go to the semi-finals," said Pietersen.
England have never won a major global one-day tournament but the former captain believes the team’s batting power gives them a good chance.
"I’ve played in the team for five or six years now, and to have a batting line-up like we’ve got at the moment is incredible," he said.
We all know what KP can do and when he’s in that kind of form he’s very dangerous. It was an exceptional innings
"Every single bloke from one down to nine or 10 can hit sixes. That’s brilliant, a great improvement and great for English cricket."
Pietersen, who was named man of the match after steering England to their target with three balls remaining, was also full of praise for the bowlers, who restricted Pakistan to 147-9.
"It wasn’t an easy wicket, but I think our boys bowled really well," said the 29-year-old, who also took a stunning catch on the boundary.
"For the team to go out there and perform on a day like today when it was crucial was great."
Pietersen, who missed most of last year’s Ashes triumph with an Achilles injury, also played down concerns he had had hurt his ankle again during a freak incident early in his innings.
He needed on-field treatment after he missed the ball and instead smashed his bat into his ankle.
"The ankle is fine. When you win you don’t worry about injuries," added the Hampshire player, who could leave the squad at a moment’s notice because his wife Jessica is expecting the couple’s first child.
Collingwood hailed Pietersen’s contribution, saying: "We all know what KP can do and when he’s in that kind of form he’s very dangerous. It was an exceptional innings.
"It needed someone to get past 50 just to see the team home."
However, the captain sounded a note of caution ahead of the next match.
"There are a few areas to improve on, we were a bit sloppy at the end, but I was pleased with how we took the momentum back in the middle of Pakistan’s innings," he added.
Pakistan coach Waqar Younis was disappointed to see his side drop five catches, including three in the first five overs by Saeed Ajmal, but backed his side to recover.
"You must give Kevin Pietersen credit for the way he played," said Younis. "He batted like a champion and took the game away from us.
"It can be very frustrating, the way we dropped the catches and the way we fielded, but we’re not out of the tournament, so we don’t really have to worry about that.
"I thought 147 was a decent total, maybe 15 runs short – but with our bowling attack, I thought we could have managed it."
South Africa later beat New Zealand in the other match in the group, suggesting the winners of Saturday’s encounter between England and the Proteas will be almost certain to reach the semi-finals.
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