Marlon Samuels and Jermaine Blackwood held up India's push for a first-innings advantage, as the West Indies reached 194 for three in reply to the tourists' first innings total of 353 at lunch on the fourth day of the third Test in St Lucia on Friday.
With the entire third day lost to rain, a draw remains the most likely result unless either team can earn a distinct advantage by stumps with one day of play left in the penultimate match of the series. Samuels (39 not out) and Blackwood (20 not out) will resume in the afternoon seeking to extend a fourth-wicket partnership already worth 59 runs. Their efforts proved invaluable in keeping the Indian bowlers at bay after the dismissal of the overnight pair within the first hour of an extended session of play.
Not for the first time in the series, Darren Bravo fell to a short-pitched delivery, miscuing a hook off fast bowler Ishant Sharma to be caught by Ajay Jadeja on the fine-leg boundary for 29. There was a moment of contention though when television replays seemed to suggest that Sharma had delivered a no-ball although television official Gregory Brathwaite ruled the delivery to be legitimate.
India were on the verge of triggering a collapse when Kraigg Brathwaite fell shortly afterwards, caught down the leg-side by wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. His typically patient innings of 64 occupied 164 balls and included six fours. But Samuels and Blackwood, who came together with the score at 135 for three, kept the Indians at bay until the lunch interval, although both appeared to be fortunate to have LBW appeals against them turned down.
-- Scoreboard at lunch on the fourth day of the third Test between the West Indies and India at the Darren Sammy National Stadium in St Lucia on Friday:
-- India 1st Innings - 353 (R Ashwin 118, W Saha 104, KL Rahul 50; M Cummins 3-54, A Joseph 3-69)
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West Indies 1st Innings
(overnight - 107 for 1)
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K. Brathwaite c Saha b Ashwin 64
L. Johnson run out 23
D. Bravo c Jadeja b I. Sharma 29
M. Samuels not out 39
J. Blackwood not out 20
Extras: (b-13, lb-2, w-2, nb-2) 19
Total: (83 overs, 3 wkts) 194
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