New Zealand beat Eangland by five runs in their first Twenty20 showdown New Zealand's captain Brendon McCullum watches his ball go well over the boundary for six against Engalnd at The Oval. Ross Taylor pockets a screamer during New Zealand's T20 against England. CAPTAIN Brendon McCullum reserved praise for young pair Corey Anderson and Hamish Rutherford after New Zealand beat England by five runs in a high-scoring first Twenty20 international in London. Chasing New Zealand's imposing 201-4, the hosts reached 196-5 in a chase which kept pace with the steep required rate until near the end. Needing 16 to win off the final over, Christchurch-born England batsman Ben Stokes struck a six off 22-year-old Anderson's first delivery. However, the Black Caps all-rounder, playing his fifth international game kept his nerve to concede just four runs off his remaining balls to Stokes and Ravi Bopara. Earlier, opening batsman Rutherford struck a rollicking 62 off 35 balls, contributing towards the team's 16 fours and four sixes after being asked to bat first. It New Zealand's third highest total in T20s and their best on foreign soil. ``Lots of pressure out there and I thought some young guys stood up exceptionally well," McCullum said. ``And that's great from our point of view to see those guys under pressure and perform as well as they did. ``It was small margins but it's still great when you come out on top. A 114-run stand for the second wicket between Rutherford and McCullum (68 off 48) laid the platform after James Franklin was removed first ball. Late unbeaten cameos from Ross Taylor (32) and Tom Latham (22) carried the Black Caps to a score which still wasn't unattainable on a friendly batting pitch at The Oval. England openers Alex Hales (39 off 29) and Michael Lumb (29 off 15) and first drop Luke Wright (52 off 34) gave their side a quality start while Bopara's late unbeaten 30 off 18 nearly steered them home. A key moment was a brilliant catch at first slip by Taylor to remove England captain Eoin Morgan for seven off seamer Ian Butler, slowing the chase momentarily. New Zealand didn't select opening batsman Martin Guptill, who injured his hamstring during a warm-up match against Kent on Sunday. The other players left out were Kyle Mills and Doug Bracewell. The second and final match of the series is at the same venue on Thursday. McCullum welcomed the possible return of world class England batsman Kevin Pietersen, who has been sidelined for more than three months by a knee injury. ``If he comes back into the mix on Thursday then we'll have to do a little more studying to try and come up with something (to combat him). ``But the game's better when Kevin's back involved so it'll be great from our point of view too if he does play.