The star-studded India Seniors finally got going, handing India 'B' a crushing seven-wicket defeat in the second limited overs match of the N K P Salve Challenger Series at the PCA Stadium today. The Seniors' handsome win was founded on an unbroken double century partnership between Yuvraj Singh and Y Venugopala Rao who helped the team recover from a shaky start and overhaul the India 'B' target of 241 with 25 balls to spare. Rao, who fell short of a hundred by two runs on Monday, made amends with an unbeaten 101 but his winning shot meant that his partner from Punjab was stranded on 99 not out. Vital partnershipThe 209-run stand between the two from 229 balls surpassed the previous best for the fourth wicket in the Challenger Series, a 170-run association between Dinesh Mongia and Amay Khurasia at Chennai in 2001. Yuvraj's 99 came from 105 balls with 13 fours while Rao's knock was filled with 15 boundaries from 125 balls. The Yuvraj-Rao combination saw the Seniors overcome early trouble when they were reduced to 33 for three in the eighth over. Earlier, A fighting half-century by Parthiv Patel helped India B score a respectable 240.Wicketkeeper-batsman Patel's 53 off 44 balls helped India 'B' recover from a dicey 130 for four after they were put in to bat on a good batting strip in the day-night encounter. Admirable confidencePatel shared a vital fifth-wicket stand with Yusuf Pathan (31), adding 58 runs off as many balls and also nursed the lower order with admirable confidence. Sridharan Sriram was the other notable contributor with 44 off 51 balls that formed the fulcrum of the early part of the 'B' innings. The Tamil Nadu left hander also featured in a 72-run association with skipper Dinesh Mongia (34) for the third wicket. For India Seniors, Irfan Pathan claimed 3-39, while Ajit Agarkar and Harbhajan Singh picked two wickets each. (PTI)
Seniors beat India 'B' by seven wickets
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