Kevin Pietersen can't watch as bad goes to worse © Getty Images Enlarge

Kevin Pietersen looked to play down the significance of his side's loss in their second and final warm-up match in Mumbai, insisting his players were "all right" after the 124-run defeat.

"I think the guys are all right, we just need to turn our heads on now and make sure we start on Friday," he said. "Today and what happened the other day doesn't really count in the grand scheme of things. What counts is the internationals.

"This really doesn't matter, but it has taught us a few quick lessons."

England, chasing 233, lost five wickets inside 12 overs, a performance in marked contrast to their impressive display in the first warm-up match on Sunday. Graeme Swann top-scored with 24 in today's 124-run defeat, while James Anderson cracked 20, but none of their top-order reached double figures.

"The opposition wasn't spectacular the other day and it was better today so we've just got to turn our games on and get our heads right," Pietersen said. "The boys had a long journey to India and we've settled in nicely now so it's just a case of getting our heads on.

"I'm not sure if we were fully focused but this is a really good lesson, I don't see this is a bad thing at all.

"It's just a case of learning from today and at the end of the tour no one really remembers what happened today or the other day, what counts is what happens on Friday."

England travel to Rajkot tomorrow evening and have a day of practice before the series-opener on Friday. A set of mixed results in the two games so far has left them with more room for improvement. There are already some injury concerns especially to their fast bowlers, with Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad both unavailable for today's game.

"We will come back hard on Friday," Pietersen said. "There is no doubt about that."