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| Napier, NEW ZEALAND : New Zealand cricketer Zeetan Patel (R) celebrates the wicket of Indian batsman Virender Sehwag during the third day of the second Test match at McLean Park in Napier on March 28, 2009. AFP |
Jesse Ryder continued to command centre stage as India crashed in the second Test against New Zealand and were forced to follow on 314 runs in arrears on the third day here Saturday.
India's first innings folded at 305 after a withering bowling spell in which they lost their last six wickets for 59 runs inside 16 overs.
At stumps India were 47-1 in their second innings, requiring a further 267 runs to make New Zealand bat again.
Gautam Gambhir was not out 14 with Rahul Dravid on 11, and New Zealand held the firm prospect of saving the three-Test series after being whipped in the first Test by 10 wickets.
On a wicket that offered the bowlers no encouragement and on which New Zealand managed 619-9, including two centuries and a double ton, none of the galaxy of Indian stars was able to perform to their vintage standards.
Central to the proceedings was the golden touch of Ryder, the batsman who top scored for New Zealand with 201.
When New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori had exhausted his recognised bowling options to break up the Indian fifth-wicket partnership of Dravid and VVS Laxman he asked the burly batsman to reprise his part-time, medium-pace role.
Ryder duly obliged and dismissed Dravid for 83 with the last ball of his first over.
He then snapped up two catches in the slips as Chris Martin and Iain O'Brien took the new ball and ripped out the Indian tail.
India resumed the day at 79-3 and progressed to 165 when Sachin Tendulkar fell for 49 in the morning session, caught at slip by Ross Taylor off Jeetan Patel.
Dravid and Laxman attempted to consolidate the innings and compiled a steady 81-run partnership as they settled in for a marathon rescue operation before Ryder struck.
When Ryder's sixth delivery came down short and side, Dravid shaped to cut and edged the ball straight to wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum, ending his 206-ball innings which lasted 282 minutes and included 12 boundaries.Martin followed with his 150th Test wicket on the last ball before tea when Yuvraj Singh had his feet wrongly planted for an intended cover drive and edged the ball to Tim McIntosh at second slip to be gone without scoring.Ryder was back in the play, replacing McIntosh as the slip catch when Dinesh Karthik fell to Martin in similar fashion.
Karthik's departure brought a flurry of runs as Harbhajan Singh and Laxman cracked 21 in two overs, Harbhajan bringing up the Indian 300 with a six.
Martin ended their brief partnership when Laxman was caught by McIntosh for 76 and O'Brien polished off the innings with the wickets of Harbhajan (18) and Zaheer Khan (eight) in successive balls.
Vettori enforced the follow on, but O'Brien was denied the hattrick by Virender Sehwag who, in his typically aggressive manner, despatched the first ball he faced to the boundary.
But it was to be a brief bash by the Indian opener who raced to 22 in 21 deliveries, including four boundaries, when he was trapped plumb in front trying to sweep off-spinner Patel out of the ground.
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