Gayle followed his century in Cape Town with more bold strokeplay

Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan hit unbeaten centuries for West Indies to halt South Africa's push for victory in the fourth Test at Centurion.

The tourists were 263-3 when bad light stopped play, with Sarwan 107 not out and the aggressive Gayle on 106.

Tha pair came together when Shivnarine Chanderpaul was caught at gully off Jacques Kallis for 27.

It was South Africa's sole success on a day of only 64 overs which ended with West Indies 40 runs in arrears.

The home side were hoping to clinch a 3-0 series win with a day to spare, but their chances faded as rain prevented a prompt start to play.

And their cause was further hampered by an injury to all-rounder Andrew Hall, who left the field holding his back just before tea after bowling just two deliveries.

The normally reliable Chanderpaul paid the penalty for a loose stroke as he flashed at a wide ball and Herschelle Gibbs made no mistake with the catch.

MOST CENTURIES IN A SERIES 21 West Indies (9) v Australia (12) in 5 Tests, 1955 20 South Africa (12) v West Indies (8) in 4 Tests, 2003-04 17 Australia (9) v England (8) in 5 Tests 1928-29 17 South Africa (6) v England (11) in 5 Tests, 1938-39 17 Pakistan (12) v India (5) in 6 Tests, 1982-83 17 West Indies (7) v Australia (10) in 4 Tests, 2002-03

His dismissal heralded Gayle's return to the wicket after having to retire hurt on the third day when he was struck in the groin by a ball from Makhaya Ntini.

The Jamaican showed no sign of any after-effects as he put bat to ball in his normal forthright manner, racing to his half century from just 61 balls.

Sarwan, considerably slighter in build, lost nothing by comparison in terms of strokeplay although he was fortunate on 20 when he glanced Andre Nel fine and Mark Boucher was unable to hold a one-handed chance.

He was first to three figures - off 202 balls - with a crisp on-drive for his 14th boundary and by the close had batted for almost four and a half hours.

Gayle encountered a few anxious moments when South African skipper Graeme Smith decided to bowl his off-spin in tandem with Jacques Rudolph's leg-breaks.

But Rudolph sent down a tasty full toss with Gayle on 98 and he punched it away through mid-wicket for the 20th century of a series which has been dominated by batsmen.

By the close, the fourth wicket partnership with Sarwan was worth 164.

South Africa: Graeme Smith (capt), Mark Boucher (wkt), Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Rudolph, Jacques Kallis, Gary Kirsten, Neil McKenzie, Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall, Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel.

West Indies: Brian Lara (captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Daren Ganga, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Smith, Ridley Jacobs (wkt), Vasbert Drakes, Mervyn Dillon, Fidel Edwards, Corey Collymore.

Umpires: David Shepherd (Eng), Srinivas Venkataraghavan (Ind). Television umpire: Brian Jerling (SA).

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SL).