They were totally outplayed in the recently concluded three-match Test series but New Zealand wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi is confident that his team will provide a much stiff challenge to the Indian team in the upcoming five-match One-Day International series.
Interacting with the media ahead of the first match in Dharamsala, the wicketkeeper-batsman said that his team has been playing good cricket in this format and insisted that if the visitors keep on playing like that they can end the series on a good note.
“It is a completely different ball game now and it is a format where we have played good cricket over the last few years. As much as we wanted to do well in those Tests, it is gone now and now we have to focus on the five ODIs and that aspect of the tour. We are a good one-day team and if we can continue to play the way we have been doing for a while then we can finish off the tour on a good note,” Ronchi said.
“But even in Tests, this team has played some good cricket over the last couple of years. So even after losing the Test series 3-0, we need to look at the ODIs positively and going into each game, back our process and skills. We have new guys coming to the ODI side and they can bring in some new energy as well… So we need to go into the series positively,” he added.
The Kiwis are undoubtedly one of the best teams in this format right now. They were the runners-up in the 2015 World Cup and with Dharamsala pitch expected to assist pacers, they can register their first victory on the tour. Ronchi, who was one of the few batsmen from his team to provide some resistance against the Indian spinners will be looking to make major contributions once again.
When asked about his role in the team, he said: “In the home series, our top order played good cricket and coming in at No. 7, I had at most 10-15 deliveries to face and I didn’t face it really well. That was my role there, but here it could be completely different, especially with more spinners around and how the wicket behaves and stuff. Because those things are important when you include the fielding restrictions between 40-50 overs have five fielders. But if things are going well, you can still make a lot of runs in the last 10 overs.
“In the past, the fielding restrictions have made a lot of difference, but I don’t think this extra one fielder is not going to make a massive difference on the total that teams are looking to get or chasing [in the subcontinent]. My role has will be to hit off in the middle and finish the game if required and if there is a trouble just build on the innings and finish the innings in the best way possible,” Ronchi concluded.