Lara’s loss left the West Indies in wobbly waters on 186 for three, still needing 191 runs to avoid being asked to follow-on by the all-conquering Australians, who lead the four-match series 1-0.

Australia had declared at an imposing 576 for four which was built around Ricky Ponting’s first double century, wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist’s eighth Test hundred and Darren Lehmann’s first day 160.

Lara and his Trinidadian compatriot Daren Ganga, who ended the day on 69 not out, laced with 10 fours and a six off 117 balls, had transformed the Oval into a Festival atmosphere with a flurry of fours in a flourishing 158-run partnership in only 148 minutes.

Every boundary in the post-tea partnership was greeted by the strains of David Rudder’s Carnival hit song, ‘Trini to the Bone’ with the lyrics ‘Welcome to the Land of Fete’.

But with Lara just nine shy of his first century in 10 Tests on home soil, he succumbed to the dreaded sweep shot for the second successive time against the persevering Hogg.

It was an untimely end for Lara and the music was muted just like when the Ponting and Gilchrist were enjoying their own dance party earlier by adding to the growing list of batting feats already accomplished here and in the Guyana first Test.

Ponting, with a career-best 206 and Gilchrist (101 not out) had featured in an enterprising fourth-wicket partnership of 171 runs as both achieved personal milestones against weary West Indies’ bowlers, who had endured the record 315-run third-wicket stand between Ponting and Darren Lehmann (160), on the first day.

Starting the day from the overnight feast of 391 for three, Ponting and Gilchrist pushed the score to 517 without further loss at lunch, adding 126 runs with a few alarms in the 26 overs bowled in the morning session.

Gilchrist has a couple of close calls when a static Pedro Collins, at long leg, opted not to attempt to make a catch from a hook off Mervyn Dillon, armed with the second new ball, which was taken after 95.4 overs with the total of 402 for three.

Collins, who was punished for 40 runs in six overs, saw another hook off his bowling sail over Ganga’s head, 15 metres inside the square-leg boundary when he should have been right back, considering Gilchrist’s power.

Ponting also got a fine edge to medium pacer David Bernard’s gentle out swinger but the ball did not have enough pace and it pitched long before entering wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh’s gloves.

He had calmly cantered to 195 at lunch and after passing his previous highest score of 197 versus Pakistan at Perth in 1999, he punched seam bowler Vasbert Drakes to deep extra cover for the two runs needed to reach the coveted double century.

So delighted was Ponting that he celebrated with such a huge leap in the air that he could certainly have won himself a high jump medal at the Carifta Games at the nearby Hasely Crawford Stadium. He raised the bat at least ten times to the many Australians scattered in the stands here.

Shortly after, he was a victim of a freakish stumping by debutant wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh, who swiftly broke the stumps on realising Ponting had carelessly wandered out of his crease after missing a harmless Marlon Samuels leg-side delivery.

His marathon knock, which spanned eight hours and 13 minutes, was adorned with 24 fours and a six off 362 balls but along the way, he achieved a few significant landmarks.

Whereas he was the sixth Australian to score a double century against the West Indies in the Caribbean, he was the first to do so in Trinidad.

Once Ponting was out, Gilchrist moved into the 90s by cutting Drakes to the backward point boundary and when Dillon was re-introduced for a mid-afternoon spell, Gilchrist greeted him with an effortless six over midwicket for six.

He duly reached his century by powerfully cutting a short ball in the same over from Dillon and gaining two runs as a diving Bernard failed to hold onto a low difficult chance with his left hand.

The declaration came immediately from captain Steve Waugh, still recuperating from a split webbing. He had held himself back, sending in both Gilchrist and even Hogg (14 not out) ahead of him.

But while it gave the West Indian bowlers - four of whom had conceded over 100 runs - a ripple of respite, the opening batsmen Wavell Hinds and Devon Smith got no relief in an uncomfortable half-hour before tea.

Gilchrist, who has the distinction of being the only modern-day batsman with a Test average of 60, was back in the picture in the second over of the innings, as Gillespie only needed five to dispatch Smith with a peach of a delivery, which he snicked behind.

All five of Hinds’ scoring shots were boundaries before Lee cut short his cameo on the stroke of tea with a delivery which he deflected to Matthew Hayden, low down at first slip.

Lara came out to join Ganga and the duo, like they did in the first Test in Guyana last week when they added 185 runs together, sent the crowd into frenzy with an array of attractive shots.

While Ganga got into gear from early, Lara lingered along with his timing somewhat trite.

Once Lara got the throttle moving and he started to thrive, his fellow Trinis got a thrilling treat as the West Indies reeled off 25 fours and four sixes - 124 runs in boundaries - in their rousing reply.

He treated leg-spinner Stuart MacGill with scant respect, starting off with a couple of delicate sweeps as he directed his line of attack on Lara’s legs.

When he opted for a much straighter line, Lara drove him down the ground for four and then moved down the pitch to dispatch the next two deliveries for sixes over long off and on as 16 runs were taken off the first three balls.

Next over, Andy Bichel was driven through the covers and mid-off for boundaries as Lara joined Ganga on 49.

Lara posted his fifty off 64 balls with five fours and two sixes and the century partnership in 83 minutes and in the same over Ganga, whose eight fours, including a few through the slips by opening the face of the bat, reached his fourth Test fifty off one more ball than Lara in 108 minutes.

Given the cue, Ganga went after the expensive MacGill, driving him through extra cover and sweeping him for boundaries in the same over while Lara kept the scoreboard ticking with a lofted four over wide long off and a six over long on off Hogg, who had replaced Bichel.

Ganga also got into the six-hitting, coolly lifting Hogg back over his head for a straight six.

Hogg managed a smile when he deceived Lara with the viciously spinning googly but the double world record holder, was soon, elegantly sweeping him for four.

However, Hogg was undaunted and kept pegging away at Lara’s legs until a lapse in concentration, probably triggered by Waugh’s two overs of speculative medium pace and field setting, brought about the West Indies captain downfall.

Lara had struck ten fours and three sixes off 120 balls in 148 minutes at the crease but his disappointing departure allowed Australia to remain firmly in the ascendancy.

AUSTRALIA’s 1st innings (o/n 391-3)

J.Langer lbw b Dillon 25

M.Hayden lbw b Dillon 30

R. Ponting stp. Baugh b Samuels 206

D.Lehmann c wkp. Baugh b Drakes 160

A.Gilchrist not out 101

B.Hogg not out 17

Total: (4 wickets, 132.5 overs) 576

Fall of wickets: 1-49, 2-56, 3-371, 4-542.

Bowling: Dillon 28.5-1-124-2 (nb-2, w-5), Collins 25-1-123-0 (nb-3), Drakes 33-4-112-1 (nb-4, w-1), Samuels 26-2-111-1 (nb-3, w-1), Bernard 11-1-61-0 (nb-2, w-1), Sarwan 2-0-7-0, Hinds 7-0-20-0.

WEST INDIES 1st innings

W.Hinds c Hayden b Lee 20

D.Smith c wkp. Gilchrist b Gillespie 0

D.Ganga not out 69

B.Lara b Hogg 91

R.Sarwan not out 1

Extras: (lb-2, nb-3) 5

Total: (3 wickets, 45 overs) 186

Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-25, 3-183.

Bowling: Lee 8-1-33-1 (nb-1), Gillespie 13-5-25-1, Bichel 7-0-42-0 (nb-2), MacGill 7-0-50-0, Hogg 8-1-33-1, Waugh 2-1-1-0.

Umpires: Asoka de Silva (Sri Lanka), Rudi Koertzen (South Africa).