Bridgetown: Bad light foiled what was shaping up to be an enterprising finish as West Indies and India played to a stalemate in the second Test here Saturday.
Meanwhile, India were fined for maintaining slow over-rate in the drawn second Test.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) fined Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni 60 percent of his match fees while the players were penalised 30 per cent.
Match referee Chris Broad imposed the fines after Dhoni’s side was ruled to be three overs short of its target at the end of the match Saturday when time allowances were taken into consideration.
Coming back to the match, chasing 281 for victory, West Indies were 202 for seven when fading light ended the contest with 10.3 overs remaining in the final day’s play at Kensington Oval.
Seemingly safe at 201 for five, the hosts lost Darren Bravo for 73 and captain Darren Sammy without scoring in the space of seven balls with just one run added, to expose the tail to the wrath of a fired up seamer Ishant Sharma.
However, Ravi Rampaul faced just one delivery before umpires Asad Rauf and Ian Gould ruled the light too bad to continue.
It was a let-off for the Windies especially and they now head into the final Test starting Wednesday in Dominica, still in with a chance of levelling the series.
Set a challenging target to win the contest, West Indies plunged to the brink of collapse at 55 for three but Bravo stood tall with a superb knock that spanned 282 minutes, 174 balls and included eight fours.
Playing solidly and patiently, he was helped out by Carlton Baugh who stroked an attacking, unbeaten 46, and opener Adrian Barath who got 27.
The left-handed Bravo also anchored key half-century stands, posting 54 for the fourth wicket with Shiv Chanderpaul (12) and 69 for the sixth wicket with Baugh.
Sharma proved to be the hosts’ main tormentor yet again, claiming four for 53 to end the game with match figures of 10 for 108 and claim Man-of-the-Match honours.
West Indies started the final session on 108 for three but lost Chanderpaul in the first over after the break, lbw to off-spinner Harbhajan Singh in what was a howler of a decision by umpire Ian Gould.
Marlon Samuels made just nine before he was trapped lbw to Sharma to leave the match on edge but Baugh counter-attacking innings, gave the Windies hope of saving the game.
Following a half-hour rain break which bought the Windies precious time, Bravo nicked an innocuous delivery from fast bowler Abhimanyu Mithun behind and Sammy played across a full length delivery from Sharma to depart lbw in the next over, before bad light had the final say.
Earlier, West Indies’ run chase had started shakily when Lendl Simmons edged Sharma at slip with the score on 18 and Ramnaresh Sarwan was caught by Suresh Raina at third slip for eight. (IANS)