Opener Jason Roy hit a quickfire half-century while leg-spinner Adil Rashid claimed three wickets to lift England to a convincing six-wicket victory against New Zealand in the ICC World T20 warm-up match at the Wankhede stadium, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
Roy smashed 55 from 36 balls, putting on 77 runs for the opening wicket with Alex Hales which helped England reach 170 for four in 19.2 overs as they won with four deliveries to spare.
Earlier, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson slammed a fifty before England leg-spinner Rashid claimed three wickets to restrict New Zealand to 169 for eight in their 20 overs.
Williamson played an entertaining knock of 63 from just 39 balls, having hit nine fours and a six, as New Zealand were sitting pretty on 101 for two at the halfway mark before Rashid did the damage.
Rashid led England's superb comeback in the middle overs, as he registered wonderful figures of three for 15 in four overs.
Except for Williamson, no other New Zealand batsman went past the 20-run mark. The Kiwis rested Corey Anderson and Colin Munro, who smashed half-centuries in the first warm-up against Sri Lanka in Mumbai as they opted to give some of their other batsmen some time out in the middle.
Kiwi opener Martin Guptill looked in a hurry as he went on the attack right from the start, hitting 16 from seven balls, before he was dismissed by left-arm pacer Reece Topley.
Williamson took up the ante after Guptill’s dismissal hitting Liam Plunkett for four boundaries in the third over, which went for 19 runs.
The New Zealand captain brought up his half-century in grand style, lofting Stokes over midwicket for a six in the seventh over, to race to the landmark from just 26 balls, having hit nine fours and a six.
Rashid, who was introduced in the ninth over, struck in the 11th over with the wicket of Luke Ronchi for 13. In his next over, he accounted for the wicket of Williamson, who was stumped after a superb innings of 63.
Mitchell Santner hit Ali for a couple of boundaries in the 14th over before he was also dismissed by Rashid, caught at long-on for 10. New Zealand lost their way in the middle, losing four wickets for 18 runs in the space of 26 deliveries to be reduced to 123 for six in the 16th over.
Veteran Ross Taylor could not get going towards the end as he finished unbeaten on 19 from 20 balls with the Kiwis managing just 68 runs from the last 10 overs, for the loss of six wickets despite 17 coming from the final over of the innings bowled by Topley.
For England, opener Roy provided the impetus at the start as he went after the Kiwi pacers early on. The right-hander took England past the 50-run mark in the sixth over.
Spin was introduced in the form of left-armer spinner Mitchell Santner in the seventh over, but he also suffered at the hands of Roy, who reverse swept him for a four before clobbering him over midwicket for a six to get 16 from the over.
However, Santner got revenge in his next over with the wicket of Roy, who was caught at deep square leg after a quickfire knock of 56 from 36 balls after he had put on 77 runs from 50 balls for the opening wicket with Alex Hales.
England were in contention at the halfway stage as they reached 89 for one in 10 overs, with another 81 needed from 60 balls for victory.
Left-arm spinner Santner checked England’s progress with the key wicket of Joe Root, who was caught at long-off for 12.
The well-set Hales made 44 from 36 balls before he was caught and bowled by Nathan McCullum on the leg side after he top edged the sweep, in the 16th over.
The match was evenly-poised with England on 128 for three in 16 overs, with another needed 42 runs needed from four overs for victory.
Jos Buttler, who has been bought by Mumbai Indians for this year’s IPL, got going straightaway with two boundaries off Mitchell McClenaghan in the 17th over. Captain Eoin Morgan attacked McCullum with back to back boundaries before he was caught at deep square leg attempting another big shot.
With 20 needed from two overs, Buttler landed a killer blow as he clubbed Trent Boult for a six over midwicket and Ben Stokes smashed a boundary through the same region two balls later to bring the equation down to six needed from the last ball.
Buttler, who blasted 24 from nine balls, ensured there were no late dramas as he smashed Tim Southee down the ground for a boundary to take England to victory in style with four balls to spare.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 169 for eight in 20 overs (K Williamson 63, A Rashid 3-15, R Topley 2-39).
England 170 for four in 19.2 overs (J Roy 55, A Hales 44, J Buttler 24 not out)
