England edge Mumbai in closely contested warm-up match

England picked up a feather close 14-run win over England in the final warm-up match prior to the commencement of the World T20 2016.

England took on an interesting assembled Mumbai Cricket Association XI (MCA XI) in their final warm-up match at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. In a bid to give all their 15 members of the squad a game before the commencement of the World T20, Adil Rashid, David Willey, Jos Buttler and James Vince were added to the Mumbai side. Thus, it proved to be quite a day for young Shreyas Iyer, captaining four prominent players in the British lineup.

Both sides unanimously decided that England would face up to the might of the MCA XI bowling attack consisting of Shardul Thakur, David Willey, Javed Khan and Adil Rashid. Jason Roy and Alex Hales once again laid the foundation for the England batting, spanking the inexperienced Mumbai attack all over the park. While the handful spectators watched Jason Roy’s swashbuckling prowess, Alex Hales exhibited class and finesse. Roy and Hales scored 32 and 37 respectively. Joe Root, perhaps England’s most important batsman stole the show with a perfect combination of aggression and class. He toyed with the Mumbai attack, smashing four boundaries en route to his 48. However, England teammate David Willey dismissed him 2 runs short of his century.

Eoin Morgan failed once more with the bat as he was run out for 11. Ben Stokes showed a bit of form as he smashed a quickfire 30 before becoming Shardul Thakur’s first victim. Sam Billings became Thakur’s second scalp as he was dismissed in the same fashion as that of Ben Stokes. The England innings. therefore closed at 177/8 in 20 overs. The major talking point was the hat-trick taken by David Willey, removing Joe Root, Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan in consecutive deliveries.

Jay Bista, the star for Mumbai with the bat on Day one of the Irani Trophy batted perhaps the only way he knew how. He was partnered by skipper Shreyas Iyer. The innings began well, with Bista in particular, putting the England bowling attack to the sword. Despite the fall of the wicket of Shreyas Iyer, Bista continued on his merry way, reaching his half century in 36 deliveries. He was well supported by 24-year old James Vince who notched up a well-made 45 off 38 balls. However, the unstoppable Chris Jordan, now the leader of the England bowling attack, ensured that Mumbai was kept at arm’s length. He castled James Vince before dismissing Jos Buttler with the final ball of the day.

Apart from Jos Buttler’s 25, the rest of the Mumbai lineup failed to produce the necessary fireworks as they were cheaply restricted to 163/6 in their 20 overs. The main takeaway of the match, however, was the fact that Shreyas Iyer skippered 4 players of the opposing side, a day he will cease to forget. It was also yet another memorable day for Jay Bista, top scoring against quality opposition.

Brief Scores

England 177/8 in 20 overs (Root 48; Willey 3/35)

Mumbai 163/6 in 20 overs (Bista 51; Topley 2/26)