Napier, March 27: Jesse Ryder played the knock of his life to double India's misery on a frightful Friday, the second day of the second Test at the McLean Park here. The Kiwi batsman displayed amazing temperament to spend more than eight hours at the crease to hit a double century that has effectively batted India out of the game.

As if that was not enough, No.7 Brendon McCullum smashed a century to boost New Zealand's total to 619/9 declared, the highest at the venue and the third best total for the home side ever. That seems a mountain for the visitors, who, at 79/3, are in a spot of bother.

India's uphill task was chiefly set up by a mountain of a man in Ryder. Resuming the day with a century under his belt, at 137, the middle order bat displayed dogged determination to stay at the crease and put a price on his wicket.

Unlike most batsmen, who tend to go for their shots after getting to a hundred, Ryder put his head down and played according to the merit of the ball. His mission, to get New Zealand to a position from where they can dictate terms, leave alone lose the match.

He did get enough help from the batsman-friendly wicket though but one still had to possess the powers of concentration to bat for as long as Ryder did. The Kiwi's commitment was evident from the reaction when he got out, dragging a wide half-volley on to his stumps - he slapped his bat hard against his pads and then flung it about upon reaching the dressing room.

Ryder timed the ball superbly and proved too powerful for the Indians. He smashed spinner Harbhajan Singh over the top and sent paceman Munaf Patel screaming through cover for fours that thrust him into the 180s.

A little later, the chubby player hooked Zaheer Khan to the boundary to bring up his double century. He played the same bowler on to his stumps next ball, thereby getting standing ovations off successive deliveries. Rare, but it was befitting a player of his calibre. Ryder's 201 was the third best score by a New Zealander against India after Graham Dowling's 239 and Bert Sutcliffe's 230 in 1968 and 1955 respectively.

If Ryder was the rock on which the New Zealand innings was built, James Franklin, Daniel Vettori and McCullum were the pillars that propelled it to greater heights.

Franklin played a good hand of 52 before being run out going for a tight single, and Vettori made the most of a dropped catch when he was on 37 - Ishant Sharma being the culprit - to hit a half-century before he was bowled by his benefactor.

At the other end, McCullum kept stroking the ball to score boundaries at will. Soon, he cut part-timer Virender Sehwag to the point boundary and threw up his arms in triumph as he whipped his bat up to celebrate his third Test century, the first since 2005. It was also his first century in New Zealand, and against quality opposition - his other two hundreds came against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.