New Zealand batting hero Jesse Ryder was last night unrepentant over his angry reaction when he was bowled out during the second test against India yesterday.
The lefthander hit a superb 201 to push New Zealand to 619 for nine declared, their third highest test total, and set up a
540-run lead over India, who are 79 for three in their first innings.
But when he was bowled one ball after scoring the highest individual test score at McLean Park, Ryder slammed his bat on the ground, whacked his pad hard on his way back to the grandstand and barely acknowledged a standing ovation from spectators and team members before throwing his bat into the pavilion.
"I'm not too fussed in the way I acted," Ryder said last night. "It probably looked a bit worse than it was. I was just disappointed at the time. What happened happened."
He described his dismissal, dragging a ball from left armer Zaheer Khan on to his stumps, as "so disappointing".
"It was a strange one, just a wide half volley and I played it on to the stumps.
It was so disappointing going so far and working so hard to get where I did. To get out like that really angered me," he said.
Ryder was the anchor in New Zealand's high-scoring innings.
Ross Taylor (151) and Brendon McCullum (115) also scored centuries.
Ryder is averaging 105 in tests since the start of the West Indies series in December, making him the national side's most reliable test batsman over the past four months.
Yesterday's big score was his second hundred in consecutive tests against India.
