India opener Gautam Gambhir led the way with a brilliant 128 off 127 balls, including 21 boundaries, as India 'A' easily beat British Universities in their opening match of the England tour on Wednesday.

The Indians overhauled the target of 222, to win by eight wickets, at the Durham University ground.

Earlier, the British Universities batsmen struggled against the Indian spinners as they amassed 221 for 9 in their 50 overs.

Leg spinner Amit Mishra was the pick of the bowlers as he picked four wickets for 41 runs in his 10 overs.

India 'A' did not start well, as SS Parab was out early for 3, with the total reading 10 runs. But left-handers Gambhir and Rohan Gavaskar then put together a 146-run partnership to change the course of the match.

Gavaskar's contribution was 41 runs off 84 balls.

After Gavaskar's exit, Gambhir combined with Hemang Badani, who was unbeaten on 33, to take India 'A' to a well deserved victory in 42.3 overs.

Scorecard:

British Universities: 
R White c sub b Mishra 52
J Adams c Patel b Balaji 14
J Francis c Gavaskar b Mishra 40
E Cowan c Bhandari b Mishra 14
M Pettini b Gavaskar 34
A Loudon c and b Mishra 1
R Ferley not out 35
I Dawood run out 10
J Bishop run out 0
D Wigley st Patel b Gavaskar 6
J Tomlinson not out 0
Extras (b-1, lb-4, w-6, nb-4) 15
Total (for 9 wkts, 50 overs) 221

Fall of wickets:
1-31, 2-98, 3-125, 4-134, 5-140, 6-200, 7-212, 8-213, 9-221.

Bowling:
Balaji 7-1-26-1,
Pathan 6-1-24-0,
Bharadwaj 10-1-35-0,
Bhandari 4-0-16-0,
Mishra 10-0-41-4,
Rayudu 7-0-36-0,
Gavaskar 5-0-31-2,
Badani 1-0-7-0.

India 'A':
S Parab lbw b Wigley 3
G Gambhir not out 128
R Gavaslar c Dawood b Wigley 41
H Badani not out 33
Extras (b-2, lb-4, w-13) 19
Total (for 2 wkts, 42.3 overs) 224

Fall of wickets 1-10, 2-156.

Bowling:
Wigley 8-0-37-2,
Tomlinson 7-0-36-0,
Bishop 7.3-0-41-0,
Loudon 10-1-62-0,
Ferley 10-1-42-0.