India had the West Indies back to the wall after putting up a huge total andmaking early inroads into the host's batting on the second day of the secondTest on Sunday.
Centuries from captain Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Kaif, coming on the back ofVirender Sehwag's 180 on the opening day, saw the Indians declare their firstinnings at 588 for eight at the Beausejour stadium.
Speedster Munaf Patel then struck twice off successive balls to leave theWest Indies in a mess at 65 for three at stumps, a deficit of 523 runs.
Opener Chris Gayle was batting on 34 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul five not outat the other end.
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Patel struck in the 10th over of the innings when Daren Ganga walked into anin-swinger and was struck in front of the stumps for 16.
Ramnaresh Sarwan was out in a similar fashion the very next ball before BrianLara became the third leg before victim, offering no shot to an Anil Kumbledelivery that straightened after pitching on middle and off.
But it was Dravid and Kaif who put India in the driver's seat with their179-run association for the fifth wicket.
Dravid hit a well paced 146, his 23rd hundred in his 102nd Test, laced with16 fours from 234 balls.
More memorable would be Kaif's unbeaten 148 as it was the Uttar Pradeshbatsman's maiden century, coming in his 11th Test after his debut against HansieCronje's South Africa at home six years ago.
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Resuming at 361 for four, India increased the tempo with Dravid and Kaifadding 124 runs from the morning session of 29 overs.
Neither the second new ball or shuffles in the bowling order was of much useto the home team.
The second new ball was claimed in the second over but Dravid reached hislandmark only in the fourth when he pulled Jerome Taylor for two runs.
He also executed the first boundary of the morning when he flicked CoreyCollymore to the square leg boundary.
Thereafter, it was Kaif who hit more fours and did the bulk of scoring.
He began with a pull off Taylor and then straight drove Collymore.
Taylor was again flicked and when Pedro Collins and Gayle appeared for thefirst time on the day, he cover drove and flicked them for boundaries.
There was a definite attempt by the Indian batsmen to push the score along.
Both Dravid and Kaif started to come down the pitch against the likes ofGayle and Sarwan and could manipulate the strike at will.
The 400 was brought up in the 95th over and the century and between the twoalso did not take long in coming.
It took the two marauding batsmen only 159 balls.
Dravid fell just before lunch while chasing a rank outside delivery from thepart-time spin of Sarwan.
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Kaif's fourth half century was in fortuitous circumstances because of fouroverthrows.
He had pushed the ball in the covers and took off for a single and thefielder, in his anxiety, threw a sharp return which eluded all and crossed themid-wicket fence.
The post-lunch session did not go entirely India's way as West Indies pickedtwo wickets - Mahendra Singh Dhoni (9) and Irfan Pathan (19) - in exchange for99 runs.
That might have delayed the declaration but with puffs of dust already comingoff, the hosts might face a tricky third day's wicket to bat on.
Irfan Pathan showed little signs of having regained his form that haddeserted him in the one-dayers but Patel troubled Ganga and Gayle with hismovement off the pitch.
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The right-arm seamer from Bharuch induced two outside edges from Ganga, thefirst one flew past the outstretched hands of Jaffer at third slip but thesecond was easily catchable but Laxman and Jaffer each left it for the other.
But in an inswinger did the trick for the accurate Patel as Ganga's frontfoot was far too across the line for the appeal to be turned down.
Sarwan succumbed to a similarly well directed ball and Lara made the cardinalsin of thrusting his pad forward to Kumble on a pitch that has begun to keeplow.
PTI
