Gros Islet, June 15 :

Captain Brian Lara hit a dogged 120 to earn West Indies a hard-fought draw against India on the final day of the second Test on Wednesday.

Lara’s 32nd Test hundred spanned 307 balls, and even though he was out 45 minutes into the final session, his team hung on for a draw for the second straight Test. West Indies, resuming its follow-on at 43-1 after the washout of day four, endured some anxious moments before closing at 294-7. West Indies still trailed by 79 runs.

India scored 588-8 declared on centuries by man of the match Virender Sehwag, captain Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Kaif, and West Indies replied with 215 in its first innings.

Lara received crucial assistance from Shivnarine Chanderpaul (54) and Dwayne Bravo (47). Lara shared successive partnerships of 129 with Chanderpaul and 71 with Bravo to push his team to safety. A couple of late wickets gave India a sniff but Denesh Ramdin (19 not out) and the lower order defied a pumped-up Indian attack for the last hour. Legspinner Anil Kumble led India with 3-98. Munaf Patel took 2-50 while Sehwag and Irfan Pathan claimed a wicket apiece.

“I think we did a great job to get in the position we did at the end. Unfortunately we lost 90 overs on the fourth day,” Dravid said. India started well after Tuesday’s washout. Kumble provided the initial breakthrough getting rid of Daren Ganga (26) at 51-2. One run later, Patel had Ramnaresh Sarwan caught behind by wicketkeeper. At 52-3, Lara and Chanderpaul built a match-saving stand either side of lunch. The four-Test series remains level at 0-0. The third Test starts on June 22 in St Kitts.