Shivnarine Chanderpaul fell agonisingly short of a century before Australian spinner Nathan Lyon destroyed the West Indian lower order to hand the momentum back to the visitors on the third day of the second test on Tuesday.
Australia vs West Indies 2nd Test Live Highlights 2012Chanderpaul was dismissed for 94 after surviving a dropped catch early in his innings when leading a West Indian fightback with a perfect blend of defence and controlled aggression.
But his gritty performance counted for little at the end of the day after the fragile West Indian batting crumbled and the home side were reduced to 252 for nine at the close, still 59 behind Australia's first innings of 311 in a low scoring match.
Lyon (5-68) triggered the collapse when he captured five wickets in a devastating spell late in the final session on an increasingly difficult Queen's Park Road pitch.
Chanderpaul, who scored an unbeaten hundred in last week's first test defeat in Barbados, shared a 130-run partnership with Narsingh Deonarine (55) to give West Indies hope of a first innings lead when the wheels suddenly fell off and they lost five wickets for just 19 runs.
Deonarine was stumped by Matthew Wade shortly after completing his third half-century in his 10th test then Lyon trapped Chanderpaul lbw with a ball that turned just enough to beat the inside edge.
Australia vs West Indies Darren Sammy (one), Shane Shillingford (four) and Kemar Roach (no score) then followed in quick succession, leaving Carlton Baugh (17 not out) and Fidel Edwards (no score) to battle through to the close.
Chanderpaul, a thorn in Australian sides for years, had been given a life on eight when the Australian skipper Michael Clarke failed to grasp a difficult chance at slip that deflected off Wade.
The unorthodox lefthander then made the Australians pay for the missed opportunity with a watchful 217-ball innings that featured 10 boundaries and a six, off leftarm spinner Michael Beer.
Deonarine also had a close shave early in his innings, scrambling home by a whisker to avoid being run out on the last ball before lunch.
