New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman luke Ronchi has no qualms in saying that Mumbai, in the warm-up match, showed the visitors how to play in Indian conditions and they will have to play better to beat the hosts in the upcoming Test series.
Ronchi felt there were more positives than negatives to take out of the only warm-up match of the team's India tour. "I think getting used to the wicket which was changing over three days (was one takeaway). It was deteriorating a bit with guys facing more spin towards the end and ball doing a few different things. Mumbai bowled and batted really well. I think we got some learnings from that. When they took us on in the final session yesterday, we were not able to pull off our game plans. There are lot of positives, couple of little negatives to sort out. We have a big series coming up and there will ups and downs," said Ronchi.
The back-up opener smashed 107 off 112 balls on the third and final day of the game here on Friday.
When asked whether their morale was affected after leaking 402 runs on Saturday, Ronchi's reply was a firm no.
"And we were playing in foreign conditions and they (Mumbai) know their conditions. The way they batted was (really good). They had a young 17-year-old (Arman Jaffer), who batted really well. They showed us how you can play on these wickets. We got to play better to bowl teams like these out and even better if we want to beat India," said Ronchi.
Asked about the chance of being picked in the XI, Ronchi said it was the decision of the team management. "If it comes up, I would certainly not say no, but you never know what Hessson and Kane (captain) are thinking. So I just go about my business and do the best I can when given a chance," he said.