PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (AFP): Ramnaresh Sarwan inched to within reach of a seventh Test hundred and, with Dwayne Bravo offering support, gave West Indies a lifeline in the second cricket Test against South Africa here on Monday. West Indies were 170 for five in their second innings when stumps were drawn on the fourth day with Sarwan holding the innings together with a purposeful, undefeated 93 and Bravo not out on 30. West Indies had conceded a 51-run, first innings lead though they needed less than 45 minutes complete the demolition job of the South Africa first innings for 398. Sarwan and Bravo batted almost two hours until the close and have added 78, unbroken, for the sixth wicket to breathe some life into West Indies' flagging fortunes, after they had crashed to 92 for five. Sarwan, the former West Indies vice captain, struck nine boundaries from 190 balls in close to five hours and all-rounder Bravo, whose batting has not lived up to expectations in his brief career, has three fours from 108 balls, but both had fortune favour them throughout their innings. On four, Sarwan looked to execute a hook shot before lunch, chose to pull out of the stroke, and saw the ball take the face of the bat and balloon over the head of short-leg fielder Jacques Rudolph, who was ducking in self-preservation. Rudolph was also the villain, when he put down Bravo on 12. The all-rounder whipped a delivery from Monde Zondeki through mid-wicket, but Rudolph failed to hold a straightforward chance. Sarwan and Bravo however kept their composure and grinded away for most of the final period. Periods of sound defence were punctuated with some handsome strokes, particularly from Sarwan, whose driving through the off-side was a joy to behold. Three wickets, two to Nicky Boje, in the last 15 minutes before tea left West Indies 86 for four at the break and shifted the balance of power decisively South Africa's way. Wavell Hinds, first innings century-maker Brian Lara, and West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul fell in the space of 18 balls to leave the home team in a scrap to save the match. Hinds and Sarwan doggedly resisted the South African attack for most of the afternoon period. Hinds even had the benefit of being dropped on 14 by wicketkeeper Mark Boucher off Kallis, but Boje was gaining appreciable turn from the unpredictable Queen's Park Oval pitch and made the crucial breakthrough for South Africa. Boje had Hinds lbw for 22 in the third-last over before the break, and bowled Lara for four in the penultimate over, before South Africa captain Graeme Smith brought back Makahya Ntini from the opposite end to trap Chanderpaul lbw for one. Ntini had also ruined West Indies' plans of a confident start when he had left-handed opening batsman Gayle caught at gully for one before lunch. For the remainder of the morning period, it took all the skill and restraint from Hinds and Sarwan to defy the South African bowlers. Ntini has been South Africa's most successful bowler in the West Indies second innings with three wickets for 34 runs from 15 overs, and Boje has supported with two for 33 from 19 overs. Earlier, West Indies needed only 9.5 overs to complete the demolition of South Africa's first innings, after the visitors continued from their bedtime position of 370 for six. Gayle, bowling his uncomplicated off-spin darts, disrupted the visitors' plans when he snared all of the wickets to end with four for 50 from 37.5 overs. Gayle struck twice in the second over of the morning when he removed the two South Africa overnight batsmen Mark Boucher and left-hander Ashwell Prince. First, Gayle caught and bowled Boucher for 28 when the batsman essayed an on-drive, but the ball took the leading edge, and three balls later, Prince was caught low at short extra cover for 45 from a chipped drive. In the fourth over of the morning, Gayle bowled Makhaya Ntini for four when the batsman played back and down the wrong line to a ball that did not turn much. Gayle's completed the job when he beat Andre Nel with a flat, fast delivery and bowled him for six. For West Indies, left-arm fast-medium bowler Pedro Collins finished with two for 78 from 29 overs, and all-rounder Dwayne Bravo took two for 98 from 37 overs. The four-Test series is still level 0-0, after the opening Test at Georgetown ended in a draw. The third Test at Bridgetown begins on April 21, and the fourth and final Test starts on April 29. Scoreboard at close on the fourth day of the second cricket Test between West Indies and South Africa on Monday: West Indies 1st innings 347 (B. Lara 196; M. Ntini 6-95) South Africa 1st innings (overnight 370 for six) G. Smith lbw b Hinds 148 A. de Villiers c Chanderpaul b King 33 J. Rudolph c wkpr Browne b Bravo 8 J. Kallis lbw b Bravo 39 M. Zondeki b Collins 14 H. Gibbs b Collins 34 A. Prince c Chanderpaul b Gayle 45 M. Boucher c and b Gayle 28 N. Boje not out 13 M. Ntini b Gayle 4 A. Nel b Gayle 6 Extras (b2, lb2, w2, nb20) 26 Total (166.5 overs) 398 Fall of wickets: 1-70, 2-86, 3-181, 4-222, 5-274, 6-303, 7-374, 8-375, 9-384 Bowling: Collins 29-5-78-2 (nb10); Powell 22-3-86-0 (nb1); King 26-7-50-1 (nb8); Bravo 37-8-98-2 (w2); Gayle 37.5-18-50-4; ¥S. Chanderpaul 2-0-6-0; Hinds 8-5-9-1; Sarwan 5-0-17-0 (nb1) West Indies 2nd innings W. Hinds lbw b Boje 22 C. Gayle c de Villiers b Ntini 1 R. Sarwan not out 93 B. Lara b Boje 4 S. Chanderpaul lbw b Ntini 1 D. Pagon b Ntini 2 D. Bravo not out 30 Extras (b2, lb10, w1, nb4) 17 Total (5 wkts, 78 overs) 170 Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-79, 3-85, 4-86, 5-92 Bowling: Nel 16-4-30-0 (w1); Ntini 15-5-34-3 (nb1); Zondeki 11-4-24-0 (nb3); Boje 19-6-33-2; Kallis 11-3-29-0; Smith 6-1-8-0 Position: West Indies lead South Africa by 119 runs with five second innings wickets standing Umpires: D. Shepherd, Aleem Dar TV Replays: B. Doctrove Reserve: T. Birbal Match Referee: J. Crowe Reprinted from Caribbean Net News caribbeannetnews.com