The batting efforts of Ganga and Samuels allowed the West Indies to rally to a respectable 408 from an overnight 186 for three in response to Australia’s daunting first innings total of 576 for four declared and avoid being asked to follow-on.

But at the close of the third day, Steve Waugh’s Aussies had extended their first innings cushion of 168 to an overall lead of 199 runs even though they lost opener Justin Langer for three to seam bowler Vasbert Drakes in reaching 31 for one in the day’s final hour.

That the youthful West Indian batting side managed to scale the 400-run mark was due to Ganga’s gallant knock of 117, which spanned 326 minutes and was decorated with 17 fours and a six off 238 balls.

It followed his maiden century of 113 in the first Test and went a long way in silencing his many critics, who had questioned his temperament and tenacity if not his technique for the Test arena after 17 lean overseas outings.

When the 24-year-old Ganga departed at 279-5 to a standing ovation from spectators in the Queen’s Park Club with the distinction of scoring back-to-back centuries in his first two Caribbean Tests after enduring a barren run in 17 overseas Tests, Samuels played a significant role in shepherding the lower order.

Ramanresh Sarwan provides some able support before he has his leg stump removed by Brett Lee for 26. (BBC pic)
The ice-cool Samuels rebounded from his double failure in the first Test in Guyana last week, to make a disciplined 68, which was studded with nine fours and a six off 122 balls in 165 minutes.

He got essential support from debutant wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh, who contributed 19 runs in a critical seventh-wicket stand of 67 while Drakes weighed in with two sixes and a four in a knock of 24.

After the disappointment of seeing his captain and compatriot Brian Lara fall nine runs short of his first Test century before his Trinidad and Tobago home crowd late Sunday, Ganga gladdened the hearts of the 9 000 Easter Bank-Holiday after he resumed his overnight 69.

Ganga continued to score freely in a promising 75-run fourth-wicket partnership with Ramnaresh Sarwan, who was having his first innings since the World Cup in South Africa.

Sarwan, while looking solid for the most part, showed signs of rustiness, as he faced 79 balls and spent 97 minutes in compiling a cautious 26 before he was yorked by one of Brett Lee’s lethal laser-like missiles.

His dismissal let in Samuels, who was spared the selectors’ axe and given another chance to showcase his sublime skills through the late withdrawal of the injured Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

The Windies fightback stalls after lunch as Lee dismisses Ganga for 117 with the home side still short of runs. (BBC pic).
The tall, unflustered Jamaican bided his time, taking 15 balls to get off the mark and batting with due care and attention, unlike in the Guyana first Test when he twice gifted his wicket to leg-spinner Stuart MacGill.

But the West Indies’ early solidity was helped by Waugh’s surprising tactic of starting their attack on the third day with his friendly medium pace bowling in tandem with Hogg while keeping pace duo Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie on ice for the arrival of the second new ball.

Ganga started the day by cutting Hogg through the covers for four and followed up by dispatching him through wide long on for another boundary.

He did play a rare naughty cross-batted shot on 81 to a full-length off-stump delivery from Hogg but redeemed himself by connecting with the similar shot and getting a boundary to the midwicket fence.

That boundary carried him to 88 but again fortune favoured him in the same over when a miscued sweep shot off Hogg dropped safely in the vacant short square-leg area allowing him to collect two runs.

Waugh rightfully replaced himself after five speculative overs but Ganga greeted MacGill with an on-driven boundary to move to 94.

Waugh wisely brought on Lee with Ganga in the nineties but there were no hiccups for him as he powerfully swung MacGill through midwicket for his 15th four to reach the century in 255 minutes off 185 balls.

Shortly afterwards, Ganga ducked into a bouncer from Lee and was struck on the helmet. Clearly unsettled, he almost gave Lee a return catch with a gentle push but the pace bowler reacted much too slowly to pouch the offering.

After Lee shattered Sarwan’s middle and leg stumps with a perfect yorker, Samuels joined Ganga and took the West Indies total to 273 for four at lunch.

On resumption, Ganga spent 14 scoreless balls and 23 minutes before he was attracted to a Lee outswinger and Hayden hauled in the edge at first slip.

Newcomer David Bernard, eager to attack the bowling, executed one flowing back-foot drive for four off Gillespie, who soon had his revenge, breaching his defence to hit off-stump with an inswinger to end his first Test knock at seven runs.

The diminutive Baugh, who had scored a rapid unbeaten century against the Aussies in the opening tour match at Everest for the Carib Beer XI, stroked Gillespie for two elegant fours to register his first runs in Test cricket.

He stayed with Samuels for an hour as the two Jamaicans carried the score to within 10 runs of the follow-on target.

By then, Samuels was in full stride and he showed his undoubted class by nonchalantly lifting Hogg over mid-on for four and then driving him pleasantly through mid-off for another boundary.

But the coup-de-grace came with an effortless six over long off to finish the over.

Baugh was then out in disappointing fashion, chopping down his stumps as he went back to cut a fast leg-break from MacGill.

It was MacGill’s 100th scalp in his 21st Test and he added another after tea when Samuels holed out to long off for MacGill to collect his 100th Test scalp in his 21 Tests.

Gillespie needed just one ball to trap Dillon leg-before-wicket for his 25th duck in Test cricket but last man Pedro Collins and Drakes gathered 24 more runs to see the total past 400.

Drakes smashed Hogg into the Press Box, almost striking Suruj Ragoonath, the former Trinidad and West Indies opener, who played his two only Tests against the Aussies, four years ago, and three balls later, he clobbered Hogg over midwicket for another six.

He was finally trapped leg-before-wicket by Lee, who ended with the excellent figures of four for 69 while Gillespie supported with three for 50 and MacGill, two for 98.

Left with 14 overs to bat before stumps, Australia lost Langer, leg-before-wicket on the back foot to an off-stump delivery from Drakes.

AUSTRALIA 1st innings 576

West Indies 1st innings (o/n 186-3)

W.Hinds c Hayden b Lee 20

D.Smith c wkp. Gilchrist b Gillespie 0

D.Ganga c Hayden b Lee 117

B.Lara b Hogg 91

R.Sarwan b Lee 26

M.Samuels c Bichel b MacGill 68

D.Bernard b Gillespie 7

C.Baugh hit wicket b MacGill 19

V.Drakes lbw b Lee 24

M.Dillon lbw b Gillespie 0

P.Collins not out 7

Extras: (b-4, lb-15, nb-8, w-2) 29

Total: (all out, 119 overs) 408

Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-25, 3-183, 4-258, 5-279, 6-300, 7-367, 8-376, 9-384.

Bowling: Lee 23-4-69-4 (nb-2), Gillespie 28-9-50-3, Bichel 12-1-58-0 (nb-3), MacGill 27-4-98-2 (w-1), Hogg 22-3-98-1 (nb-3), Waugh 7-2-16-0.

AUSTRALIA 2nd innings

J. Langer lbw b Drakes 3

M.Hayden not out 15

R.Ponting not out 10

Extras: (lb-2, w-1) 3

Total: (1 wkt, 14 overs) 31

Fall of wickets: 1-12.

Bowling: Dillon 7-0-20-0 (w-1), Drakes 6-3-8-1, Samuels 1-0-1-0.

Position: Australia lead by 199 runs with nine wickets remaining.

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