It was once again down to Brian Lara, who scored his two record-breaking Test innings in Antigua but at the Recreation Ground, to skipper the West Indian ship to safety. In the company of Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lara, playing to a packed off-side field that included a backward point, point, cover and mid-off, got down to a common man’s job of accumulating runs.

McGrath, who can be relied upon to keep a monotonous just-outside-the-off-stump line, erred for once by giving Lara too much room. The left-hander pounced on the rare chance and slammed the ball through the covers.

What Lara was Sarwan were able to achieve was push the fielders back on the edge of the circle, to dash for some quick singles. In between, Lara came up with his vintage drives through the off-side. His brilliant pull-shot off Tait to the mid-wicket boundary in the 20th over showed the aggression and reflexes had not aged.

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