Shivnarine Chanderpaul hit a cautious century as West Indies took an 88-run first innings lead over India on the day three of the third and final Test.

The left-hander's unbeaten 136 included 16 fours and a six in a 255-ball knock as he shared in a 191-run unbroken partnership with Marlon Samuels.

But the stand appeared unlikely to gain a consolation victory for the Caribbean side, who lost the first two Tests of the series.

Samuels was 89 not out when bad light brought an end to the day 25 minutes early, with the tourists 446 for five.

Chanderpaul's sixth Test century, his fifth against India but his first on foreign soil, came after West Indies had lost two wickets in the morning session.

The Guyanese batsman started slowly but cut loose after lunch to punish India's bowlers, with leg-spinner Anil Kumble bearing the brunt for a second day.

Samuels, playing his first match of the series, joined in with some big hits as he raised his half-century off 116 balls.

Kumble dismissed opener Chris Gayle for 88 in the morning session, caught by Virender Sehwag at forward short leg.

And the second new ball brought success for Ashish Nehra, whose angling delivery found Carl Hooper edging to a diving Parthiv Patel behind the stumps.

India: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sanjay Bangar, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Parthiv Patel, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra.

West Indies: Carl Hooper (captain), Wavell Hinds, Chris Gayle, Darren Ganga, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ryan Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Ridley Jacobs, Mervyn Dillon, Cameron Cuffy.

Umpires: David Shepherd and Asoka De Silva. TV umpire: Arani Jayaprakash. Match Referee Mike Procter.