Problem child returns as Easy Ryder

But instead,Ryder stiffened his arms,locked his bottom wrist and met the ball with something approaching a tennis players semi-western forehand grip. The ball sailed over the the boundary between deep midwicket and long on.

Under the radar

This was to be the last time Ryder would go past or over the ropes in that innings. Despite remaining at the crease till the end,he would score only six of the last 39 runs of Pune Warriors chase against Chennai Super Kings,and recede to the background as Steven Smith took over. Exactly a week later at the Ferozeshah Kotla,Ryder scored another matchwinning half century for Pune. But here again,his innings was overshadowed by someone else. This time,it was Sourav Ganguly,with bat,ball and that wild-eyed,unruly-haired celebration of Kevin Pietersens wicket.

Deep down perhaps,Ryder will not mind if his performances continue to go under the radar for the rest of his India jaunt. When you are dropped from your national side for your umpteenth disciplinary offence a drunken altercation at a hotel on the night of an ODI defeat decide to take an indefinite break from cricket a week later,and less than a month after that announce that you will return to the game via the IPL with a manager and psychologist travelling in tow you want to remain more or less inconspicuous.

But this state of affairs wont go on for too much longer if he keeps batting the way he has so far. Having played all but one of Punes matches,he is currently their highest run-getter for the season,with 217 at an average of 43.40,a strike rate of 131.51,and,as mentioned earlier,a couple of matchwinning half centuries.

Class contrast

Both those innings showcased exactly what makes fans wish fervently that Ryder can sort out his personal issues and just go out there and bat. In a world where Twenty20 batting is dominated by the robotic,pre-meditated shuffler,the burly Ryder stands still at the crease and reacts to what the bowler flings his way.

Ryders response may not always be orthodox that six off Bravo,for example,or his willingness,like any other modern batsman,to clear his front leg for more swinging room but it is still a response rather than an educated guess. He can afford to bat like this because he spots the length earlier than most. Once hes done that,he treats you to that delightfully simple,unencumbered bat-swing. Eyes and hands.

And he knows how to construct an innings. Against Chennai,he didnt take any risks against off spinners R Ashwin and Suresh Raina,despite the fact that they were keeping Punes run rate in check from both ends and getting through their overs very quickly. Ryder knew that he could take heavy toll of even marginally poor bowling from the seamers,and he kept picking them off for pressure-relieving boundaries.

Against Delhi,Ryder enjoyed huge slices of luck early in his innings. His first two sixes were top-edges over third man and his first boundary an inside-edge down to fine leg. But thereafter,he batted smartly,realising that his fortuitously rollicking start had given him space to get his eye in in almost conventional manner,and proceeded to take 16 singles off his next 19 balls before cashing in with a series of effortless hits at the death.

Its hard to point a finger at exactly what has clicked for Ryder. His entourage might have played some part,as might the Pune Warriors team management. Sourav Gangulys greatest achievement,arguably,was his mentorship of a young,abrasive bunch of Indian cricketers in the early 2000s,and he might see in Ryder echoes of the early Yuvraj Singh or Harbhajan Singh. But maybe its just that Ryder is an extremely good batsman who is seeing the ball well and cashing in on typically up-and-down IPL attacks.

New Zealand,however,will hope that this surge of form indicates bigger things. Unusually for them,they possess genuine batting riches in Ryder,Martin Guptill,Brendon McCullum,Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson. All are potentially world class,and Ryder might well be the best of the lot.

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