For several weeks after succeeding Michael Vaughan as captain of England's Test and one-day sides, Pietersen could do little wrong and led them to a final Test victory at The Oval and an emphatic 4-0 home one-day series triumph over South Africa.

But that golden touch disappeared in the heat and dust of the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground with virtually every decision he made backfiring spectacularly as India romped to a 158-run victory in the opener to the seven-match series.

His first decision was to put India into bat on a green-looking surface and watched them race to 387-5, their highest total against Test-standard opposition and the most England have ever conceded in a one-day international.

He also decided not to protest when Yuvraj Singh asked for a runner after sustaining back trouble and then watched him deliver one of the great one-day innings by hammering an unbeaten 138 off only 78 balls.

Just to cap his day, Pietersen's hopes of scoring a century and at least giving England a small hope of challenging India's total ended when he was run out for 63 after a mix-up over a quick single with Ravi Bopara – the man he had recalled to the team.

Perhaps the only consolation for Pietersen was that at least his side avoided the indignity of suffering their worst runs defeat of 165 against the West Indies in
St Vincent 14 years ago and against Pakistan at Karachi in 2005.

But following equally dismal displays both in the Stanford showdown in Antigua and their warm-up defeat to a Mumbai XI on Tuesday, it is unlikely to lift Pietersen's spirits greatly.

"We're not going to moan, we're not going to complain, we're not going to cry about it," stressed Pietersen. "We're going to keep our heads and chins up and make sure we give it a good go on Monday because there are still six games left.

"There are definitely improvements we can make and I'm not exactly excited by the fact that on that wicket we were 40-4. I think there are definitely areas where we can improve."

Having put his faith in his seamers rather than play two spinners, Pietersen would have hoped they could have troubled the India batsmen more after winning the toss.

Instead, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir set the tone with a brilliant opening stand of 127 spanning just 19.5 overs which laid the platform for Yuvraj's onslaught, which helped add 124 in the final 10 overs.

"He came into the game perfectly fine and injured his back during the fixture so it's only fair he had a runner," said Pietersen.

In reply, England lost four wickets inside the first 11 overs and never recovered, though Bopara showed some spirit with an unbeaten 54 off 38 balls.