It was only a flamboyant and mature unbeaten half-century from Dwayne Bravo that prevented Guyana from securing victory with a day to spare.

With a first innings lead of 127, Guyana have Trinidad & Tobago on the ropes at 169 for eight with a lead of just 42 after they fell for a paltry 143 in their first turn at the wicket.

Guyana, starting the day on 237 for six with a lead of 96, progressed to 270 all out and then ripped through the Trinidad & Tobago batting --Travis Dowlin leading the fight with three for 29.

Trinidad & Tobago took just over an hour in the morning to wrap up the Guyana innings.

Damodar Daesrath added seven to the 30 that he went to bed on and was then adjudged caught behind off Reyad Emrit but the television replays of the Trinidad & Tobago team analyst suggest that he did not get the edge in playing defensively forward.

Emrit, two for 44 after the second day, snatched another three wickets to complete his second five-wicket haul (5-48) in regional first class cricket.

Amit Jaggernauth, the off-spinner, and medium pacer Dwayne Bravo, got two wickets each.

The lead was a comfortable 127 and Trinidad and Tobago never challenged until Bravo, slamming 55 not out batting at number seven, along with Marlon Black, (10) put on 49 for the eighth wicket to take their team past the deficit.

Opening the innings, Daren Ganga initially showed the application of the Test batsman he is, slaving away dutifully and not giving any hints of chances.

By tea he doubled the 20 he had at lunch, and was marshalling the team that he is likely to lead in the next round to 76 for three at the second interval.

T&T added exactly 50 in the session but lost two wickets, that of the younger Ganga, Sherwin (11) and Shazam Babwah (17).

Captain Neil McGarrell took both wickets, Sherwin caught at silly mid-off and Babwah struck on the full in front the wicket.

Before lunch, Imran Jan was bowled by pacer Rayonn Griffith for a duck, playing on as he launched an audacious drive through covers.

After tea, Trinidad & Tobago continued to lose further wickets to the unrelenting pressure applied by McGarrell’s aggressive field placings and his bowlers’ restrictive line and length.

The Trinidadians though, contributed mostly to their own demise, showing no desire to occupy the crease, choosing instead to play extravagant and reckless shots.

First Aneil Kanhai got to 16 then tried to sweep against the tight off-spin of Dowlin and the ball ballooned to mid-wicket for Krishna Arjune to complete an easy catch.

Ganga, eight short of his half-century, went down the track and looked to hit his 150th delivery from Dowlin out of the ground. He missed and had his middle stump uprooted.

His 42 was decorated with six fours but in the end it was about 50 short of what was required from the team’s only Test batsman if they were to give Guyana a meaningful fight.

In the first innings, Trinidad & Tobago were 86 for five and fell for 143, in the second they did only marginally better at 88 for five.

It was a position from which they were in serious danger of being defeated by the bottom-of-the-table Guyana by an innings.

Bravo, who was forced to come at number seven due to being off the field -- with a knee injury -- for most of day two, then came and watched wicketkeeper Vishal Nagamootoo fantastically snap up a snick from his counterpart Gibran Mohamed’s bat to give Dowlin his third wicket of the innings.

Continuing the poor shots, Emrit drove wildly at Zaheer Mohamed and Griffith accepted with glee.

Bravo then took charge, shielding Black and simultaneously cracking the ball around for six fours and one huge six off Sewnarine Chattergoon’s only over.

His innings has so far lasted 83 balls and while he lost Black (10) just as the day’s play was coming to an end, Jaggernauth (0) ensured no further damage and Rodney Sooklal, the last man, is to come.

While Dowlin took three wickets with his deceptive off spin, McGarrell (2-32) contributed well as did Griffith, Daesrath and Mohamed, who each took a wicket.

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 1st innings 143 (I.Jan 73; D.Daesrath 4-17)

GUYANA 1st innings (o/n 237 for 6)

K. Arjune c S. Ganga b Bravo 1

S. Chattergoon b Bravo 10

N. Deonarine lbw Emrit 71

T. Dowlin b Emrit 67

L. Johnson lbw Jaggernauth 4

D. Daesrath c wkp. Mohamed b Emrit 37

N. McGarrell c wkp. Mohamed b Jaggernauth 34

V. Nagamootoo c wkp. Mohamed b Emrit 1

Z. Mohamed c Jaggernauth b Emrit 4

E. Crandon c Jaggernauth b Black 16

R. Griffith not out 3

Extras: (b-4, lb-5, nb-13) 22

Total; (all out - 114.5 overs) 270

Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-19, 3-150, 4-155, 5-169, 6-237, 7-244, 8-245, 9-258.

Bowling: Black 19.5-5-62-1 (nb-10), Emrit 29-14-48-5, Bravo 7-3-8-2, Jaggernauth 26-8-51-2, Sooklal 20-1-63-0 (nb-3), Kanhai 6-1-13-0, S. Ganga 5-3-10-0, Jan 2-0-6-0.

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 2nd innings

D. Ganga b Dowlin 42

I. Jan b Griffith 0

S. Ganga c Dowlin b McGarrell 11

S. Babwah lbw McGarrell 17

A. Kanhai c Arjune b Dowlin 16

G. Mohamed c Nagamootoo b Dowlin 3

D. Bravo not out 55

R. Emrit c Griffith b Mohamed 14

M. Black c & b Daesrath 10

A. Jaggernauth not out 0

Extras: (lb-1) 1

Total: (for 8 wickets - 74 overs) 169

Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-36, 3-65, 4-86, 5-88, 6-89, 7-120, 8-169.