MULTAN, Pakistan – West Indies' push for a series-levelling victory was stalled yesterday, after Brian Lara's ninth double-hundred ensured a first innings lead of 234 over Pakistan on Day 4 of the second Test.

Pakistan's top-order batted with enterprise and cut the deficit to just 21, as the home team cruised to 213 for two at the Multan Cricket Stadium.

Imran Farhat, Younis Khan, and Mohammad Yousuf all collected their second half-centuries of the match to frustrate the visitors.

Farhat, the flashy left-hander, was unbeaten on 70, and Yousuf again advertised his complete game with a classy 56 not out.

Younis matched his first innings score of 56 before left-arm spinner Dave Mohammed claimed his first wicket of the match. Fast bowler Jerome Taylor, again the biggest threat, collected the other wicket.

In the morning session, Pakistan's bowlers led the fight-back after the carnage of Day 3.

West Indies, resuming on 509 for five, lost five wickets for 82 runs in the first session.

Lara, continuing from 196, collected his double century in the day's fourth over, when he drove his 241st ball through the off-side.

Soon afterwards, the West Indies skipper lost overnight partner Denesh Ramdin.

Lara forged a threatening stand of 40 with the unorthodox, but the hugely effective Mohammed.

But Kaneria, brought back after testing spells from Umar Gul and Nazir, earned some measure of revenge with Lara's dismissal.

Lara hit 22 fours and seven sixes in a majestic knock that lasted seven minutes over seven hours and spanned 262 balls.

Lara's dismissal left the tail exposed, and though Mohammed slapped two sixes off Kaneria and two other fours in 36, the lead fell short of the 300 the West Indies wanted. Kaneria secured his 12th five-wicket haul in 42 Tests, when Mohammed tried for a third six, missed, and was stumped.

Abdul Razzaq provided some reverse swing to end the innings with two clear leg-before decisions against Taylor and Daren Powell.

Farhat and Hafeez then boosted Pakistan as they safely negotiated ten overs before lunch to reach 21 without loss.

But Taylor struck soon after the interval when he rocked back Hafeez's off-stump, as the right-hander played back to an in-swinger.

With Pakistan 24 for one, West Indies were buoyant. Their mood soon darkened with the arrival of Younis Khan.

He overtook Farhat and rushed to a half-century off 66 balls with a rare false stroke, for his sixth boundary.

That boundary also gave him 4 000 Test runs, the eighth Pakistani batsman to that level.

The 28-year-old, in his 49th match, and Farhat took Pakistan to tea on 123 for one. Younis departed in the second over after the break, trying to cut Mohammed and giving Ramdin a catch behind.

Yousuf, like the man he replaced, quickly asserted himself with a volley of boundaries to take him past 6 000 runs, joining countrymen Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq in reaching that milestone. (CMC)

SCOREBOARD:

Pakistan 1st innings 357

West Indies 1st innings

(overnight 509-5)

C Gayle lbw b Kaneria 93

D Ganga lbw b Kaneria 82

B Lara c Malik b Kaneria 216

R Morton lbw b Gul 5

S Chanderpaul c Razzaq b Nazir 14

D Bravo c Younis b Kaneria 89

D Ramdin c wk Akmal b Nazir 11

D Mohammed st Akmal b Kaneria 36

D Powell lbw b Razzaq 9

J Taylor lbw b Razzaq 1

C Collymore not out 1

Extras (b9, lb18, nb7) 34

Total (all out, 167.4 overs) 591

Fall of wickets: 1-162, 2-220, 3-281, 4-302, 5-502, 6-523, 7-563, 8-583, 9-590.

Bowling: Umar Gul 38-13-96-1 (nb2), Shahid Nazir 29-2-103-2 (nb4) , Danish Kaneria 46-7-181-5 (nb1), Abdul Razzaq 17.4-4-65-2, Mohammad Hafeez 24-2-72-0, Shoaib Malik 13-1-47-0

Pakistan 2nd innings

Mohammad Hafeez b Taylor 18

Imran Farhat not out 70

Younis Khan c wk Ramdin

b Mohammed 56

Mohammad Yousuf not out 56

Extras (b4, lb4, w3, nb2) 13

Total (2 wkts, 66 overs) 213

Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-124

Bowling: Taylor 14-1-40-1, Collymore 13-5-30-0 (nb1), Gayle 6-1-30-0 (w1), Powell 10-3-32-0 (nb1, w1), Bravo 10-3-24-0 (w1), Mohammed 11-4-40-1, Chanderpaul 2-0-9-0.

Umpires: Daryl Harper (Australia), Mark Benson (England); TV Umpire: Zameer Haider (Pakistan); Match Referee: Roshan Mahanama (Sri Lanka)