Working with Dravid in IPL has helped: Sam Billings

England were not overawed by the occasion that Tuesday's warm-up game against India 'A' was. They went about their business of chasing the 305-run target in a clinical manner. They did not mind the crowd attention that was focussed entirely on MS Dhoni in his last game as captain of an Indian team.

Right from the 95-run start that openers Jason Roy and Alex Hales provided to the 99-run stand for the sixth wicket between Sam Billings and Liam Dawson, England's run chase was carried out to perfection.

Billings, regarded as a fine player of spin, said his experience of playing for Delhi Daredevils in IPL last year will put him in good stead going into the limited-overs series.

"Spin is going to play a massive part. Ashwin and Jadeja are two of the best in the world. We'll look to combating them as best as we can. My footwork against spin definitely improved in the six weeks I was here (for IPL 2016).

Working with (mentor) Rahul Dravid, one of the best players ever to play the game, helped. It was an amazing experience, one I'd like to have again," Billings, the 25-year-old Kent batsman said on Tuesday night.

Billings may have scored 93 at No. 3 on Tuesday but is yet still not assured of a place in the 11 in the first ODI in Pune on January 15 as Joe Root returns to the squad after welcoming his first child last Saturday.

"You cannot afford to be disappointed or feel sorry for yourself," Billings said when asked how he'd feel if he missed out on the first ODI. "It is a professional sport. Joe Root is one of the batsmen in the world. I will still work as hard as I can in all aspects of the game. I have been keeping as well. If something happens to Jos (Buttler), I can be a back-up 'keeper as well. Try and be one of the best fielders I can. Just work hard. I just have to score as many runs as I can every time I play."

Billings opened in the last ODI he played, in Bangladesh, a tour that regular opener Alex Hales missed due to security reasons along with captain Eoin Morgan. Otherwise, Billings has played at No. 7, playing the role of a finisher.

Billings is still finding his feet in international cricket but he impressed in front of one of the greatest finishers in modern era, Dhoni, watched by thousands of spectators giving it the feel of an international game.

Billings said: "He (Dhoni) is a hero in India and he is a hero in world cricket. It is a credit to him what a great career he has had just as a captain. It is great to have such a crowd here for a warm-up game. For us players, it (crowd) makes it far more realistic and far more competitive. It is more realistic to the first game on Sunday. All the best to him.

"Playing in front of a crowd makes a massive difference. If it was an empty stadium playing against Mahendra Singh Dhoni, we should have been playing in the maidans (laughs). It was a great atmosphere for a warm-up game. Having crowd is part and parcel of the game, not necessarily pressure less or more."

Billings and opener Jason Roy, who made 62, were team-mates at Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League before arriving in India for this series.

World T20 experience helps for Roy

Meanwhile, pleased with his start to the series, Roy too paid tributes to Dhoni while saying that England were focussed on job at hand, i.e. winning, and not let the occasion get the better of them.

The 26-year-old right-hander from Surrey said: "It is an incredible position for him (Dhoni) to be. Obviously, India's most successful captain and hero of the game for India and world cricket. With regards to our cricket, we just wanted to make sure individually we were sticking to our guns, making sure the bowlers were bowling the right lengths. We were worried about ourselves. We did not pay too much attention to what's going on in the change rooms."

Roy said his experience of playing in World T20 last year in India will help him in the three ODIs followed by three T20Is over the next three weeks.

"The crowd and pressure situation are the major things you come across especially in the sub-continent. With two spinners bowling in the middle overs, the pressure seems to be getting on top of you. You kind of calm yourself down. The WT20 in India and the BBL are big tournaments that help you deal with those sort of stuff," Roy said.

England play their second and final warm-up game against Ajinkya Rahane-led India 'A' at Brabourne Stadium on Thursday before heading to Pune the following day.