Brian Lara closed in on his 33rd Test hundred to lead a West Indies fightback against Pakistan at lunch on day four of the first Test on Tuesday.
Lara was dropped on 48 but went on to score 88 as West Indies reached a respectable 188 for four, still needing 91 runs to avoid an innings defeat.
Resuming on a precarious 74 for three the visitors lost only the wicket of nightwatchman Fidel Edwards, caught in the slips for 10 off Shahid Nazir after hanging on for nearly an hour.
Pakistan ran up a total of 485 runs after bowling out the visitors for just 206 on the opening day.
Lara, who was dropped by Mohammad Hafeez at point trying to steer Umar Gul, found an able partner in Shivnarine Chanderpaul (43) to put on 87 from 180 balls on a slow and low bounced pitch. Gul has taken seven wickets in the match.
Lara, the world's leading Test scorer and holder of the highest Test and first class innings, made his intentions clear from the outset.
Having scored 61 in the first innings, the 37-year-old played some breathtaking drives to entertain a sizeable crowd, using his feet to drive leg spinner Danish Kaneria or off-spinner Shoaib Malik.
Malik made a very close leg before appeal just before lunch but with Lara's confidence growing he left the fielders standing with a magnificent cover drive on the next ball.
Lara brought up his 49th Test fifty by straight driving Gul for a boundary.
