India’s fourth Test against West Indies ends in a draw

St. John's (Antigua), May 14: West Indies left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul scored a sedate unbeaten 136 but Ridley Jacobs added a fiery 118 as the fourth Test against India ended in a tame draw on Tuesday.

They shared in a 166-run stand for the sixth wicket as West Indies piled up 629 for nine, their fourth highest Test score against India and the first over 600 in over 27 years. India had declared their first innings at 513 for nine.

Chanderpaul, who cracked his third century of the series, took his aggregate up to 445 runs at an astonishing average of 222.5. Only captain Carl Hooper, who was out for 136 on Monday, has scored more runs this series -- 556 at 111.2.

India had won the second Test at Port of Spain, Trinidad by 37 runs but West Indies hit back with a 10-wicket win at Barbados to level the series 1-1.

Chanderpaul took 510 deliveries in all and added only 56 to his overnight 80 on the entire fifth day even as India asked the entire team, including wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra, to bowl.

But Jacobs, in contrast, launched a vicious assault on the Indians in front of his hometown fans on a good batting wicket at the Antigua Recreation Ground.

Jacobs, left out of the first two Tests due to a lacklustre performance with the bat against Pakistan at Sharjah earlier this year, had scored a duck at Barbados but hit back in solid style.

He flicked left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra to the mid-wicket fence for four before cutting Javagal Srinath to the point boundary.

The 34-year-old reached 50, off 97 balls, with a couple to deep point before dancing down the track and lofting Nehra for a six that landed on the roof of the Richie Richardson stand.

Chanderpaul, who had started the day unbeaten on 80, brought up his fifth Test century just 20 minutes before lunch, off 336 deliveries, on-driving Khan to the mid-wicket fence.

Jacobs reached three figures lofting occasional off-spinner Vangipurappu Laxman for a huge six, his fifth of the innings, which almost cleared the stands and soared into St John's famous High Street.

It was his second Test hundred and his highest score, beating the 113 he had scored against South Africa in the Kensington Oval at Barbados last year.

Rahul Dravid grabbed his maiden Test wicket to finally have him caught by Laxman at mid-wicket.

Mervyn Dillon struck some lusty blows in his brisk 43, which included five fours and two straight sixes before he was bowled by all-round spinner Wasim Jaffer.

India were one specialist bowler short with leg-spinner Anil Kumble having to return to India after his jaw was fractured by a rising delivery from paceman Dillon on the first day of the match.

The 31-year-old, India's most successful current bowler with 319 wickets in 70 Tests, had bowled on Sunday despite being wreathed in bandages before flying back home for surgery.

Laxman had hammered 130 and man-of-the-match Ratra 115 not out in India's big first innings total.

India beat Sri Lanka in 1993-94 but will be seeking their first Test series win outside south Asia in over 16 years in the final Test starting in Jamaica on May 18.

West Indies, who had lost six of their last seven Tests before the Barbados match, are seeking to bounce back from two straight Test series losses.