Taylor and Ryder score centuries by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Scorecard:	New Zealand v India
Player:	LRPL Taylor, JD Ryder
Event:	India in New Zealand 2008/09

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DateLine: 26th March 2009

 

Ross Taylor scored a chancy century along with Ryder to put New Zealand in a position of dominance. He swished, he flashed, he edged and he was dropped twice, but luck was on his side and he battled his way to a third Test century to give New Zealand some much-needed stability. Playing the second fiddle at first and then stepping into the driver's seat was Jesse Ryder, with his second century in as many games, and New Zealand rounded off what had started a disastrous day in a very dominant position.

 

Virender Sehwag was captaining the side instead of MS Dhoni, who was ruled out with a sore back and Daniel Vettori won the toss and chose to bat on a pitch that had been the source of discussion after it was reported there was a fungal infection on the surface, and one he described as not having a consistency of grass cover and then an almost typical New Zealand start as three wickets fell for just 23 runs.

 

At that stage it appeared that the events would follow the pattern of the first Test, but the record fourth-wicket partnership for New Zealand that followed put them in a strong position.Refreshingly, Taylor and Ryder put on an excellent rearguard effort and two significant centuries ensued. Taylor unloaded an innings of fiery and chancy strokeplay on India. He experienced a particularly good slice of fortune on 4 when Yuvraj Singh was unable to latch on to a thick outside edge at third slip. Taylor continued to go for his shots, edging three of four boundaries in one Munaf Patel over, and initially kept the bowlers hopeful that he would over-reach himself.

 

Taylor and Ryder carried on tenaciously, with the third-man area proving most lucrative for Taylor in particular, who nicked and slashed through the slips and gully. Several rasping square cuts stood out and there were soft-handed cover drives to go with shuffled clips off the pads. Zaheer Khan was pulled and cut for boundaries and Ishant Sharma replaced Harbhajan Singh, only to be whipped for consecutive boundaries before Taylor finished the over with another glanced four.

 

It wasn't all pretty. All of the four primary bowlers were unlucky throughout, with many Taylor edges falling short of fielders or going over their heads. When Rahul Dravid failed to hold a tough catch at slip, with Taylor on 92, India's hopes of preventing Taylor's innings from swelling to three figures were dashed.

 

The milestone came on the stroke of tea with another squirt through gully and Taylor soaked up the applause from his home crowd. The angst gone, Taylor laced two more boundaries in the over before tea and on resumption he indulged himself a six off Harbhajan. By the time play ticked into the last hour-and-a-half of the day Taylor was placing the ball at will, as a fierce cut, a straight punch over Munaf and a slash to third man in one over exemplified. But his decision to slog one from outside off stump cut him just short of his Test best, and Yuvraj at deep square leg took a tumbling catch.

 

Ryder has been the scourge of the Indian bowlers all tour and he again tormented them with an innings that blended straight-bat defiance with a dab of panache. Having partnered Vettori to a century on day one of the series opener Ryder understood his role and had no qualms about playing second fiddle. Ryder's approach was simple and he bide his time against the seamers and blossomed against spin - after edging one off Harbhajan between slip and the wicketkeeper, Dinesh Karthik. And in between bouts of tempering his game he slogged Virender Sehwag for four and six and silkily drive and late-cut Harbhajan.

 

Once he reached his hundred, and after Taylor departed, Ryder opted for caution. James Franklin was fortunate that Billy Doctrove didn't spot an edge in the shadow of stumps and Yuvraj spilled a sitter.