Hits century as West Indies avert innings defeat:

Bravo! Dwayne

HOBART, Australia, Sunday (AFP) - Dwayne Bravo scored a fighting century and shared in the West Indies' second-highest seventh-wicket partnership to defy Australia's bid for a quick kill in the second cricket Test at Bellerive Oval here Sunday.

Bravo and fellow Trinidadian Dinesh Ramdin combined in a spirited 182-run stand to force Australia to chase a Frank Worrell Trophy series victory on Monday's final day after they had looked poised to sweep to an innings victory.

Bravo was out shortly before stumps for his highest Test score of 113, bowled by Shane Warne as he charged down the wicket to belt the wrist-spinner, who finished with 4-112. The West Indies were all out for 334 in the last over, leaving the Australians the task of scoring 78 runs for victory on Monday.

The record partnership was broken when Ramdin was out inside the final hour edging Stuart MacGill to Warne low down at slip for his highest Test score of 71 in 225 minutes off 190 balls.

Only the world record seventh-wicket stand of 347 by Dennis Atkinson and Clairmont Depeiza against Australia in Bridgetown in 1954-55 ranks higher than Bravo-Ramdin's epic effort for the West Indies.

Their near four-hour resistance followed the body blow of losing champion batsman Brian Lara in contentious circumstances before lunch.

Bravo, 22, born in the same village as Lara, scored his second century in his eighth Test match after being overlooked for the first Gabba Test where the tourists were thrashed by 379 runs.

The all-rounder scored 107 in his previous Test against South Africa in Antigua last May.

Bravo had a life on 56 when he was dropped by a diving Brad Hodge at square leg off Brett Lee 30 minutes before tea.

Bravo and Ramdin came together at the double wicket blow of Lara and stricken Marlon Samuels, who had stabilised the tourists' batting with a 57-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

Lara, Test cricket's second-highest runscorer, was given out to a questionable caught behind for 45 off Warne but television replays were inconclusive as to whether Lara had given an outside edge to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist.

Audio technology suggested his bat may have brushed his pad in playing forward to the leg-spinner. Lara, the wicket the Australians prize, lingered over his shot before leaving the wicket ending his watchful 174-minute innings, which gave indications that he was returning to form after a below-par tour.

Lara on Saturday overtook Australian Steve Waugh (10,927) as Test cricket's second all-time leading run-getter and now has 10,961 runs.

Allan Border is the world record holder with 11,174. He was soon followed by Samuels, unable to fully get forward to Warne because of a restrictive knee injury and popping an easy catch to Hodge at short leg for 29.

Samuels, batting with a runner, was hit on his troublesome left knee while batting on Thursday and needed scans to clear him to bat in the second innings.

Daren Powell was given out lbw for a duck in another dubious decision to a MacGill wrong'un with 20 minutes left in the day. Corey Collymore was caught behind off Warne off the last ball.