Moeen hails IPL success as "very important" after starring role in England win
Moeen Ali believes his stint with the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League was "very important" in his preparation for the T20 World Cup.
Moeen starred in England 's opening six-wicket win over the West Indies, winning the player of the match award after picking up career best T20I figures of 2-17 as the Windies were skittled for just 55.
Prior to the start of the World Cup, Moeen played an important role in Chennai's IPL title win, ending the competition as the third-highest overseas run scorer.
And he believes that game time has allowed him to hit the ground running at the T20 World Cup.
Speaking after England's dominant win, he said: "Playing for CSK in the IPL leading up to the tournament was very important for me.
"It feels like I'm always involved with bat and ball and on the field too, and it was the perfect preparation coming into the World Cup."
Moeen's close friend Adil Rashid, who picked up career best figures of 4-2 himself, told BBC Test Match Special: "We couldn't have expected anything better than that.
"We set the tone up top with Mo and Chris Woakes and then we came in and done more. It was a top-drawer performance from the bowlers.
"There were some nerves flying around, but we've prepared well and we were confident in our abilities and today was the perfect start.
"It evolved for Moeen to bowl four overs straight through, he bowled a really good first over and then second over and it carried through."
West Indies captain Kieron Pollard, meanwhile, insisted his side would be ready to bounce back in their next game, saying: "There are no words to explain it.
"It was plain to see, I didn’t think we were good enough. Sometimes with these sorts of games you just have to bin them and move on.
"We need to find our straps – we have not batted well in three games [here and two warm-ups]. I don’t think any panic will come into the camp. We have to take it on our chests as big men."
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