By ICF Staff
October 12 2005

19-year old Robin Uthappa's blitzkrieg innings vanquished India A after they put up a challenging total on the board, taking India B to the Challenger Trophy final against the Seniors. Mohali: A devastating ODI century from young Karnataka batsman Robin Uthappa slammed into the India A bowlers like a hurricane, propelling his side into the final by 7 wickets with a remarkable 11+ overs to spare, chasing a victory target of 261.

Dinesh Mongia, India B captain, won the toss and decided to bowl first. He may have rued the decision after seeing VVS Laxman and Suresh Raina hit big knocks to take India A to a challenging total.

However, India A for their part would have regretted dropping Ramesh Powar and Hemang Badani, who would in all likelihood have done something to prevent the unfortunate dipping of run rate in the final 10 overs after a solid platform had been set.

Openers Gambhir and Jadhav departed early, as Sree Santh once again proved the most successful bowler of the day with 2-44 off 10 overs. India A recovered from 30/2 to 217/2, but Laxman and Raina slowed as they approached their centuries, and the rest of the batsmen were unable to contribute. Thus, what looked like a 300 innings fizzled out as 217/2 quickly turned into 260/8 in the final over.

Still, this looked like an eminently defendable total as tearaway fast bowler Vikram Singh initially troubled the India B openers with pace and bounce on the flattest of tracks.

But they had not counted on Uthappa's unexpected ferocity. Shikhar Dhawan initially dominated the opening partnership but as Uthappa grew in confidence, he battered the helpless India A attack which, try as they might, could not find a bowler capable of restraining him. A blistering 39 runs came off 14 balls, including 8 fours and a six, as RP Singh and Suresh Raina bore the brunt of his fury to take him to a 78-ball century before he retired with cramps, but not before ensuring the win.

This breathtaking Man of Match-winning knock by Uthappa is particularly refreshing after a consistently weak show by India in recent ODIs, as well as the controversies surrounding the team and coach.

Robin's bold approach, unmindful of personal goals, reminds one of India regulars Virender Sehwag and Mahendra Dhoni, India's best ODI batsmen on current form. He had started in similar fashion in the previous game, and must be rewarded with a berth in the squad if India is to get back to its winning ways in the one-day game.

Sriram and Mongia finished off the job, taking India B to the top of the points table with a bonus point after an overwhelming victory. They will look forward to taking on India again in the final tomorrow.