BASSETERRE: West Indies were 113 for four in their second innings at the close of the fourth day of the third Test against India on Sunday.
Earlier, Venkatsai Laxman hit his 10th Test hundred for India and West Indies chose not to enforce the follow-on after claiming a 219-run first innings lead in the third Test at Warner Park here on Sunday.
Laxman scored an even 100, as India were dismissed for 362, replying to West Indies' first innings total of 581, after the visitors forced the home team to claim an extra half hour past tea to claim the final wicket.
The last wicket pair of Harbhajan Singh and Munaf Patel spent an hour and 10 minutes over a stand of 47 that beefed up India's total, after they had subsided to 315 for nine about 40 minutes before the scheduled tea break.
Harbhajan was not out on 38 and Patel scored 13, after compatriots Corey Collymore and Pedro Collins had snared three wickets between them for 18 runs in the space of 25 balls after India continued from their lunch total of 241 for six.
Corey Collymore was the pick of the West Indies' bowlers with three wickets for 63 runs from 25 overs, and Jerome Taylor snared three for 118 from 26 overs.
Dwayne Bravo collected two for 38 from 17.3 overs, and Collins captured two for 117 from 29.3 overs.
The partnership between Harbhajan and Patel not only cut into the West Indies' lead, but also contributed to Collins leaving the field with a leg injury.
Collins had made the breakthrough for West Indies after lunch, when he had Laxman caught behind playing on the backfoot and edging a ball angled across him.
Off the last ball of the previous over, bowled by Collymore, Laxman had steered a delivery to third man for a single to reach his hundred, but he was sadly dismissed with the first ball of the next over, after he struck 15 boundaries from 231 balls in just over six hours.
Three overs later, Collymore had Anil Kumble caught at deep fine leg for 43 top-edging a hook at a short, rising ball. The Indian leg-spin bowler smote eight fours from 61 balls in 96 minutes.
Collins then had Shantha Sreesanth caught at second slip for a second-ball duck top-edging an upper cut, but Patel came to the crease and upset the West Indies' plans before slicing Bravo to gully.
Earlier, West Indies had tightened their grip on the match, when they captured four wickets - three to Jerome Taylor - before lunch.
Taylor removed Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, and Mohammed Kaif in the space of six deliveries inside the first half-hour to put the skids on the visitors.
Laxman held the Indian innings together before the interval and spent an hour and 45 minutes with Mahendra Dhoni trying to repair the early damage with a stand of 61 for the sixth wicket.
Collymore however, had Dhoni adjudged lbw for 29 when the batsman played back and across to a well-pitched delivery that moved back from outside the off-stump.
Taylor had pulled the rug from underneath the Indian batting, after the visitors had continued from their bedtime total of 150 for two, needing to reach 382 to avoid the follow-on.
Taylor had India captain Rahul Dravid adjudged lbw for 22 playing half forward to an off-cutter in the fast bowler's first over of the day.
In Taylor's second over, he struck twice in the space of three balls.
Left-hander Yuvraj Singh was caught behind for a four-ball duck edging a flat-footed drive, and Mohammed Kaif was dubiously adjudged lbw for a two-ball duck, as television replays suggested the ball may have been drifting down the leg-side.
Laxman remained unflappable and reached his 50 when he drove Taylor into wide mid-on for a single and offered not even a semblance of a chance.
The four-Test series is still level at 0-0, after the first two Tests at the Antigua Recreation Ground and the Beausejour Cricket Ground ended in tense draws.
The series concludes at Kingston's Sabina Park from June 30 to July 4. Warner Park is staging its first Test. It has become the ninth Test venue in the West Indies and the 94th in the World.
Scoreboard:
West Indies (1st Innings) 581
India (1st Innings)
W. Jaffer c Lara b Bravo 60
V. Sehwag c Lara b Collymore 31
V. Laxman c Ramdin b Collins 100
R. Dravid lbw b Taylor 22
Yuvraj Singh c Ramdin b Taylor 0
M. Kaif lbw b Taylor 0
M. Dhoni lbw b Collymore 29
A. Kumble c Collins b Collymore 43
Harbhajan Singh not out 38
S. Sreesanth c Lara b Collins 0
M. Patel c Ganga b Bravo 13
Extras (b8, lb5, nb13) 26
Total 362
Fall of wickets: 1-61, 2-124, 3-157, 4-159, 5-159, 6-220, 7-297, 8-311, 9-315.
Bowling: Taylor 26-3-118-3; Collins 29.3-4-117-2 (nb10); Collymore 25-4-63-3 (nb2); Bravo 17.3-6-38-2 (nb1); Gayle 2-0-3-0; Samuels 7-1-10-0.
Overs: 170.
Position: India trail West Indies by 219 runs on first innings.
Umpires: R. Koertzen, B. Jerling.
TV Replays: C. Mack.
Match Referee: J. Crowe.
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