GEORGETOWN (Guyana), April 14: Rahul Dravid hammered his 10th Test century to help India avoid the follow-on and reach 345 for seven at lunch on the fourth day of the first Test Sunday, in reply to the West Indies total of 501.
The 29-year-old from Bangalore shared in a vital 70-run unbeaten stand for the seventh wicket with Sharandeep Singh to rescue India, who had slipped from 263 for four to 275 for seven when they came together.
Dravid was unbeaten on 107, including 17 fours, while Sharandeep was 27 not out at the interval.
Vangipurappu Laxman, 46 not out in India’s overnight total of 237 for four, started the day aggressively, driving fast bowler Mervyn Dillon through the covers to reach his 50 with his eighth four.
The 27-year-old, who scored an Indian record 281 to inspire a stunning 2-1 home series win against Australia last year, then pulled Dillon to the square-leg boundary before cutting Cameron Cuffy through third man for another four.
But Cuffy, from the island of St Vincent, hit back when Laxman was caught chasing a widish delivery and edging it straight to Chris Gayle at first slip for 69.
Cuffy struck again in his next over, trapping all-rounder Sanjay Bangar lbw for a duck with a ball that came in sharply after pitching outside off-stump.
Anil Kumble was the next to go, out for three when he cut debutant Adam Sanford to point, where Mahendra Nagamootoo dived forward and picked up a brilliant catch just inches off the ground.
But just when it seemed Dravid was going to run out of partners, Sharandeep came in and played doggedly to ensure there were no further mishaps.
Dravid, who almost dragged a Cuffy delivery on to his stumps when on 64, then took charge, driving Sanford for two consecutive fours through the off-side and hitting Cuffy for a straight boundary.
He saw India to the 302 needed to avoid the follow-on by driving Dillon for four to long-on and then raised his hundred — his first since scoring 180 against Australia in March last year — by hitting Sanford through mid-wicket for his 17th four.
Sachin Tendulkar had led India’s fightback with 79 on Saturday. The 28-year-old shared in a 78-run third-wicket stand with opener Shiv Sundar Das (33).
Tendulkar had looked set for his 29th Test hundred before he was trapped lbw trying to pull leg-spinner Nagamootoo through mid-wicket off the last ball before tea.
Had Tendulkar reached his century he would have equalled Don Bradman’s 29 Test tons, although the Australian achieved the feat in just 52 matches.
Only Indian Sunil Gavaskar, with 34 hundreds in 125 Tests, has a better record.
Dravid and Laxman, who came together with the score on 144 for four, made sure there were no further mishaps as they collected runs in ones and twos while punishing bad balls.
Dravid started slowly but picked up the tempo as he cut Dillon through point for four before flicking him for four more to the mid-wicket boundary.
He reached his 50 off 178 balls, steering Dillon to third man for his eighth boundary.
Laxman loooked in prime form from the moment he came in.
The Hyderabad batsman drove Nagamootoo through the covers before cutting him for consecutive boundaries.
WEST INDIES (1st Innings) 501 (C.L. Hooper 233, S. Chanderpaul 140, R.R. Sarwan 53).
INDIA (1st Innings, overnight 237-4):
S.S. Das b Sanford 33
D. Dasgupta lbw b Cuffy 0
S.C. Ganguly c Nagamootoo b Dillon 5
S.R. Tendulkar lbw b Nagamootoo 79
R.S. Dravid not out 107
V.V.S. Laxman c Gayle b Cuffy 69
S.B. Bangar lbw b Cuffy 0
A.R. Kumble c Nagamootoo b Sanford 3
Sharandeep Singh not out 27
EXTRAS (B-4, LB-11, W-2, NB-5) 22
TOTAL (for seven wkts, 120 overs) 345
FALL OF WKTS: 1-6, 2-21, 3-99, 4-144, 5-263, 6-270, 7-275.
TO BAT: Zaheer Khan, J. Srinath.
BOWLING (to-date): Dillon 27-3-109-1 (2nb); Cuffy 22-4-43-3 (2w); Sanford 23-5-72-2 (2nb); Nagamootoo 32-11-83-1 (1nb); Hooper 12-4-16-0; Gayle 4-2-7-0.—Reuters