Another Brian Lara special

West Indies skipper Brian Lara smashed a superb unbeaten 177 to dominate the Sri Lankan attack on the fifth and final day of the opening Test, heading for a draw here today.

The stylish left-hander cracked 20 fours in his 21st Test hundred to help his team reach 384-6 at lunch in reply to Sri Lanka8217;s 354 at the Beausejour Stadium. Omari Banks was the other not-out batsman on six.

Lara, stranded on 93 on Sunday, initially struggled a bit as he spent nearly 10 overs in the nervous nineties before reaching his fifth century in as many Tests against Sri Lanka with a four off left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas. He crossed 150 in the closing overs before the break when he fluently drove Vaas through the covers.

Nearly two sessions on Sunday and the entire day8217;s play the following day were washed out. Resuming at 272-4, the West Indies added 112 in the extended morning session with Lara alone contributing 84.

Off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan grabbed both the wickets that fell on a fifth-day pitch to finish with 4-126.

Lara looked unstoppable after reaching his ton as he exploded with a flurry of boundaries, hitting Kaushal Lokuarachchi for 16 runs in an over, including three fours. His team-mates continued to struggle against Muralitharan who kept a tidy line and length right from his opening over. Muralitharan8217;s first victim was Samuels, who was smartly stumped by Romesh Kaluwitharana after adding just three to his Sunday8217;s score of five.

The spinner struck again when he deceived Ridley Jacobs with the one that came in, trapping the left-handed batsman leg-before for his fourth wicket.