A DEFIANT unbeaten hundred by Jacques Kallis that was exemplary in its discipline and absolutely vital in the context of the match, allowed South Africa to bat through the final day of the first Digicel Test against the West Indies to ensure a draw at Bourda yesterday. Following-on for the first time in over three years and needing to bat almost five sessions to avoid going behind in the four-match series, the tourists were indebted to Kallis. His meticulous 109 not out steered his team to safety at 269 for four in their second innings when opposing captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul acknowledged that he no longer had any realistic prospect of winning. The match was called off as a draw with eight of the mandatory final 15 overs left to be bowled. It would have been scant consolation to the regional team's captain to be named Man-of-the-Match on the strength of his unbeaten 203 out of a total of 543 for five declared in his side's only innings. Try as he did in rotating his three frontline pacers and giving the part-time slow bowlers ñ including himself ñ a combined 71 overs during the course of the innings, Chanderpaul could not contrive to dislodge Kallis, who achieved two significant milestones during the course of his match-saving innings. When he reached 55, he became only the second South African after Gary Kirsten to compile 7,000 Test runs, and in glancing Reon King to long-leg for his 100th run, the 29-year-old right-hander equalled Kirsten's record for the most Test centuries for his country at 21. If it was not a delight to behold, coming as it did in 373 minutes off 316 balls with 15 fours, it will nevertheless be cherished by Kallis as one of the most important of his 90 Tests. Resuming on the final morning in partnership with Jacques Rudolph, the big Western Province stroke maker was a pillar of solidity throughout a day blessed with the best weather of the match. SLICE OF LUCK Yet he needed a slice of luck that, had it gone the other way, could have resulted in a very different finish to the match. On 22, he edged a Chanderpaul delivery that Courtney Browne could not get his gloves to as it crashed into the wicketkeeper's pads. The Barbadian, who is unfortunately remembered by unforgiving West Indian fans for a vital miss that allowed Australia's Steve Waugh to compile a critical double-century at Sabina Park 10 years ago, had earlier missed a difficult chance diving down the leg-side when Rudolph glanced a delivery from Darren Powell. The left-hander eventually fell, palpably lbw for 24 to a Narsingh Deonarine delivery that barely got off the turf. At 119 for three an hour before lunch and given the manner of the dismissal, a decent crowd gathered at Bourda had every reason to believe that the expected variable bounce and West Indian bowling discipline would get the better of the South Africans. But Kallis remained rock solid, and with Herschelle Gibbs (49) restraining his usual belligerent style, the pair made the match safe with a 139-run fourth-wicket stand that spanned just over four hours and was only ended when Gibbs lost concentration in the first of the final 15 overs. WEST INDIES 1st innings 543 for five decl. SOUTH AFRICA 1st Innings 188 SOUTH AFRICA 2nd Innings (85 for two overnight) AB de Villiers b King 20 *G Smith b Collins 34 J Rudolph lbw b Deonarine 24 J Kallis not out 109 H Gibbs b R Hinds 49 +M Boucher not out 04 Extras: (b16, lb2, w2, nb9) 29 TOTAL: (4 wkts, 161 overs) 269 To Bat: A Hall, N Boje, M Ntini, C Langeveldt, A Nel. Fall of wickets: 1-46, 2-68, 3-119, 4-258. Bowling: Collins 24-10-44-1 (1nb), Powell 28-15-46-0 (1w), King 24-5-54-1 (8nb, 1w) Hinds 14-5-16-0, Hinds 27-13-27-1, Deonarine 30-15-35-1, Chanderpaul 13-6-25-0, Ganga 1-0-4-0. Result: Match drawn. Man-of-the-Match: Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Umpires: Aleem Dar, David Shepherd.