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THE West Indies desperately clawed their way back into contention on the third day of the second Test yesterday but, even amidst the euphoria of dismissing Sachin Tendulkar for a fourth-ball duck, their grip was never more than tenuous.

On a slow, heartless pitch, they didn't have the strength to sustain it and, by the time fading light ended the day 40 minutes past the appointed time with four of the 98 allocated overs unused, they were precariously hanging on by their fingertips.

An unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 109 between the left-handed captain Sourav Ganguly and the silken right-hander V.V.S.Laxman occupied the last three hours of another blazing hot day. It also gradually silenced the pandemonium that broke out when Tendulkar was the third wicket to fall for two runs in the space of quarter-hour in the middle session.

The two stabilised India's position, then slowly and surely restored the advantage as an unsteady 54 for four 40 minutes after lunch was converted to 165 for the same four at stumps.

It gives India an overall lead of 254 with Ganguly and Laxman still entrenched, even if a suspect tail is to follow.

It is an equation that means they can dictate terms over the final two days at the Queen's Park Oval where they have gained their only two victories in 34 previous Tests in the Caribbean.

The fact that the last time the West Indies won batting last on the ground they got 282 for seven against England four years ago is counterbalanced by last innings totals of 51 (against Australia), 63 (by Zimbabwe) and 162 (against South Africa) in the three Queen's Park Tests since.

Ganguly, out for five and 25 in his previous two innings, resumes this morning 48, and Laxman, extending the form that brought him earlier scores of 69 and 69 not out, 60. Their partnership is already the second highest of the match.

The last half of the day was as frustrating for the West Indies as the first had been encouraging.

The last four wickets, that had averaged 14 over the previous six Tests, added another 48 on the day, 65 overall, before India wrapped up the innings two hours into the day for 245.

It still represented a deficit of 94 but if West Indies could restrict their eventual winning target to under 300 they would have a chance.

Merv Dillon claimed opener Shiv Sunder Das for nought in the six overs before the first interval but, on resumption, he and the other bowlers were making no impression on Sanjay Bangar and Rahul Dravid in a second-wicket stand of 48 when the game took as sudden a twist as it had in the closing stages the previous day when Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Junior Murray toppled for one run.

Adam Sanford, all bustle and enthusiasm, took opener Bangar's outside edge on the drive for a catch to second slip.

Three balls later, Dravid, playing with the fluent assurance of a batsman with scores of 144 not out and 67 in the series, got a thin leg-side deflection to Cameron Cuffy and wicket-keeper Murray gathered the catch to remove him for 36.

As always, Tendulkar was the key Indian wicket. The game's premier batsman, who completed his 29th Test hundred with his first innings 117, received a warm welcome. Not only do Trinidadians appreciate class, there are thousands here who have a soft spot for the land, and the cricketers, of their forefathers.

Tendulkar held up the West Indies for over six hours and 260 balls for his first innings 117. Now he lasted only quarter-hour as his fourth ball from Sanford took him on the pad as he jumped back, aiming to push into the leg-side.

His surprise at finding Sri Lankan umpire Asoka deSilva's raised finger upholding the roared West Indian appeal was justifiable, for the ball appeared heading over the stumps.

Given his luck with decisions in the first innings, it was another instance that verified the age-old dictum that things eventually even themselves out in this game.

It set off even more bacchanalian celebrations around the ground than usual and, as India went to tea 77 for four, it was obvious the last session would determine the course of the match and possibly the result.

The realisation did not seem to occur to the usually miserly Cuffy, whose first two deliveries on resumption were inviting half-volleys that Laxman duly latched onto for a couple of driven off-side boundaries.

Apart from a genuine appeal for a keeper's catch when Ganguly, then 24, drove at Dillon, there was little to encourage the West Indies after that as bats got broader.

Umpire deSilva probably based his verdict on legitimate doubt since Ganguly's bat brushed the ground and threw up a cloud of dust. Even the television replay provided no conclusive evidence.

In the morning, it took India almost two hours and 22.5 overs to wrap up the West Indies innings.

It had been undermined late on the second day when three wickets tumbled for one run within ten balls after Lara's dismissal for 52 and they resumed at 197 for six with their eventual total heavily dependent on captain Carl Hooper who was 30.

While Hooper carefully added 20 from the 49 balls he received before he was ninth out for 50 to a catch at extra-cover off left-arm fast bowler Zaheer Khan, Dillon, Black and Sanford offered him useful support.

They at least ensured that the deficit was reduced to double figures, but on a hard, dry, basically true pitch likely to become progressively worn, India's lead was still strong.

© Barbados Nation