A hurricane century by Karnataka's 19-year old Robin Uthappa helped India 'B' pull off a memorable seven-wicket win over India 'A' and storm into the final of the NKP Salve Challenger Series limited overs cricket tournament at the PCA Stadium tonight. Right handed Uthappa smashed 116 from only 93 balls as India 'B' comfortably overhauled what at first looked like a competitive target of 261 by India 'A' in the final league encounter of the day-night series. The teenager's knock, filled with 19 fours and two sixes, put to shade a crafty innings of 110 by international star V V S Laxman who had featured in a tournament-best third wicket stand with Suresh Raina earlier in the day. Raina became the third batsman in the series to come close to a hundred when he was dismissed on 97 after he shared a 187-run third wicket partnership with the stylish batsman from Hyderabad. But India 'B' did well to strike vital blows in the closing stages to see that India 'A' does not run away to a big total after the Laxman-Raina partnership. India 'B' needed to achieve the target in 47.3 overs to set up a summit clash with India Seniors on Thursday, but Uthappa's blitzkrieg performance made sure they romped home with more than 11 overs to spare. The victory with a bonus point meant the least favourites of the series finished on top of the tables, above both the Seniors and 'A'. (PTI)
India 'B' score thumping victory
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