A maiden century from tail ender Jigar Naik salvaged an unlikely draw for Leicestershire against second-in-the-table Derbyshire on a dramatic final day of their LV County Championship Division Two clash at Grace Road.

The home side were on the brink of an innings defeat when 25-year-old Naik, with a previous best score of 16, joined James Taylor in the middle five minutes before lunch.

At that stage Leicestershire were 224 for seven - still needing 77 runs to make Derbyshire bat again.

However, Naik - the first Leicester-born Asian to play for the county - hit an unbeaten 109 and shared a record eighth-wicket stand of 195 with Taylor to deny Derbyshire victory.

With Leicestershire on 429 for eight the teams shook hands on a draw with 11 overs still remaining.

It was a remarkable recovery by the home side, who in the morning session had lost five wickets for 70 runs in the 29 overs bowled.

Much of that was down to poor batting with all five victims guilty of poor shot selection on a slow and low pitch.

Starting the day on 154 for two, Leicestershire lost the key wicket of Hylton Ackerman who was caught on the square leg boundary attempting a hook against a short pitched ball from Tim Groenewald.

And in the next over from Stefan Jones opener Matt Boyce was taken low down by wicketkeeper James Pipe off a loose shot outside off-stump,

having patiently made his way to a valuable 80.

It was just the sort of start the home side did not want and worse was to follow.

Tom New was caught behind flicking at a ball down leg-side from leg-spinner Mark Lawson and Wayne White was run out with the total at 209.

When Claude Henderson was caught by Pipe flashing at a delivery from Garry Park just before lunch, the home side were deep in trouble at 224 for seven.

There looked to be no way back - but the remarkable partnership between Naik and Taylor turned the game on its head.

Try as they might Derbyshire could find no way through and as their bowlers tired the two batsmen launched into a succession of boundaries with Naik, in only his 10th first-class innings, producing some magnificent shots.

He hit 10 fours in his first 50 - many of them to the leg-side when he served a diet of short pitched deliveries.

Taylor also reached his half-century and when the partnership went past 109 it was the best for Leicestershire's eighth wicket against Derbyshire since 1914.

At tea the pair were still together at 342 for seven and Naik, growing in confidence, continued to hammer some poor bowling.

He reached his century with another leg-side four, this time off Greg Smith. The milestone was reached from 180 balls and included 18 fours.

Taylor also looked set for a century but was bowled by Smith on 94 with the stand of 195 - beating the previous record for the eighth wicket set by Paul Nixon and David Millns against Lancashire in 1996.

Derbyshire continued for a few more overs but finally shook hands on the draw 15 minutes into the final hour.