Success at last

Ryder has been New Zealand cricket’s problem child who started the year with a one-match ban as he missed the team meeting during the West Indies tour because of a late night drinking session with friends. He later missed the tour of Australia because of injury. The one-day series against India was as much a test of his shoulder as it was of his will to keep away the inner demons. There seemed a sense of frustration among the game’s administrators who were already blamed for giving a long rope to the gifted cricketer prone to moments of madness.

Passing the test

New Zealand might have lost the series but Ryder has passed his test,and how. On the field,his 225 runs from 5 games mean he’s scored more than anyone else in the Kiwi dressing room and his match-winning effort of 3 for 39 and 49-ball 63 on Saturday has given his team a consolation they were desperately seeking for ahead of the Test series. Off it,he has kept his public promise of keeping away from alcohol. After the Twenty20 triumph,Ryder sat with a bottle of cold drink. Watching him walking off the field with the Man of the Match champagne bottle,with the earlier episode in mind,it seemed safe to say that Ryder had not only handed over the win to his mates but the celebratory drink too.

When the game started this morning after the rain delay on a pitch with bounce,it seemed that finally the conditions were right for a specialist bowler to walk away with the bubbly. Two men were expected to be the spoilsport for the new ball bowlers and it was the disparity of their batting performance that proved to be the difference between the two sides.

Virender Sehwag and Ryder are two men with contrasting lives but there is a lot in common when they are on field. Both swear by aggression but have a calm exterior and unfazed temperament. Blessed with immaculate hand-eye coordination,their strokeplay is rarely pre-meditated. Though on Saturday Sehwag unusually danced down the track to hit Jacob Oram out of the ground and miscued a shot. With the target of 150 within striking distance Ryder avoided such rush of blood. He did what Sehwag usually does. Giving respect to the good balls but showing utter disdain to anything marginally short or within the striking distance of his bat.

Aggression is the key

Indian skipper MS Dhoni knew that if there was one man who can match his team’s USP of belligerence,it was Ryder. “Aggression has been the key but you have to be calm when it comes to Tests because the red ball does a bit more,so the approach will change a bit. Some of the batsmen will play the kind of cricket they have played. It can be a Sehwag or a Ryder because of their strengths and natural way of playing cricket. You don’t want to curb it. Sometimes they may change it but more often than not they will be aggressive,” Dhoni said.

Like Sehwag,Ryder isn’t the one for big jargons and both the openers have a way of describing their startling show on field in simple words. Since the Sehwag-Ryder resemblance wasn’t too hard to miss,the hero of the day was asked if he was inspired by the star of the series. “I’d love to say that but he’s a bit more destructive than I am. I have just got back into form and am trying to under-hit the ball most of the time and spend a bit of time in the middle and it’s working for me,” he said.

It’s indeed tough to begrudge him. A few overs after Ryder’s heated exchange with Ishant Sharma,there was a warm handshake between the two.