BRIDGETOWN (Barbados), May 4: Fine centuries by Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul ensured West Indies got into perfect position for a series-levelling win at the Kensington Oval on the third day of the third Test Saturday.

West Indies were all out for 394, a lead of 292. India were seven without loss in their second innings at lunch.

Earlier on Friday, Brian Lara, Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Hooper cracked half-centuries as the hosts, who had bundled India out for a paltry 102 Thursday, amassed 314 for four to take a commanding 212-run first innings lead.

They will be looking to build on it further with Chanderpaul at the crease on a breezy 75 and captain Carl Hooper, who played the anchor role initially, on 70 with 10 fours.

The pair, who had added 293 for the fifth wicket in the first drawn Test at Georgetown, put on an unbeaten 153 runs together after Lara (55) and Sarwan (60) brought up 119 for the third wicket.

India won the second Test at Port-of-Spain by 37 runs last week for their first victory in the Caribbean since 1976.

But the India team, which beat Sri Lanka in 1993-94 but has not won a series outside South Asia in over 16 years, looks set to go down on Barbados’s lively pitch.

They were famously bowled out for 81 while chasing 120 for victory in the fourth innings at the same venue in 1997.

But Sarwan, playing his 20th Test, enthralled the Kensington Oval crowd with a flurry of boundaries.

The 21-year-old Guyanese glanced Zaheer for a four to fine-leg before driving him through the covers and pulling him to the square leg fence.

He then drove Ashish Nehra for a straight boundary and cut him two balls later to the point fence before raising his 11th test 50 driving off-spinner Harbhajan Singh through mid-off for four.

The 33-year-old Lara, who celebrated his birthday on Thursday, hit some glorious shots after the lunch interval.

He drove paceman Javagal Srinath down the ground for two fours in an over and then hit him though extra-cover for another four.

The left-hander reached his second 50 of the series with a shot to square leg for two runs.

He was looking set for a big score but got a leading edge to Nehra and ended up lobbing an easy return catch.

Nehra struck again in his next over, having Sarwan caught at point by Wasim Jaffer when the batsman tried to cut over the infield.

Just when India looked to be fighting their way back into the match, Chanderpaul and Hooper put up a gritty display.

Left-hander Chanderpaul cut Harbhajan to the point fence, slashed Nehra through the off-side and flicked Srinath to the mid-wicket fence before getting his 50 by steering Zaheer between slip and gully for four.

Hooper, who had scored a career-best 233 at Georgetown last month, started slowly but cut Nehra backward of point and swept Harbhajan for consecutive boundaries to mid-wicket.

He had a close shave on 15, backing up too far when a Chanderpaul straight-drive clipped bowler Nehra’s fingers and crashed into the stumps at non-strikers’ end.

Television replays proved inconclusive and the benefit of the doubt went to the batsman.

India’s downfall was plotted by Mervyn Dillon, who captured four wickets for 41 runs as the West Indies bowled them out in just 33.4 overs on the rain-hit first day Thursday.

Captain Saurav Ganguly was the only man who managed to put up some resistance, scoring 48 off 76 balls.