Dhaka: Young Gautam Gambhir struck his maiden half-century as India moved into the final of the TVS Cup triangular series with a four-wicket victory over host nation Bangladesh here on Wednesday.

The left-handed Gambhir made amends for his early failures with a sparkling 71 which helped India overhaul Bangladesh's score of 207 with 7.1 overs to spare to record its third consecutive victory in the tournament.

The Indians gave a chance to all the newcomers in the squad but still proved to be too strong for the struggling host whose winless streak extended to 35 matches with Wednesday's defeat.

Gambhir, who had scores of 11 and 18 in the two previous matches, justified the faith reposed in him by the team- management to anchor the Indian run chase after stand-in skipper Virender Sehwag had given a flying start.

The Indians made life a little difficult for themselves by losing three wickets in quick succession at the home stretch with Gambhir, Mohammed Kaif (20) and Sanjay Bangar (7) returning to the pavilion. But Dinesh Mongia, who remained unbeaten on 16, anchored the side past the target.

Earlier, Bangladesh batsmen put up a much improved performance and, thanks to a fine half-century by Habibul Bashar, crossed the 200-run mark for the first time in 18 innings. Akram Khan (35) and Mehrab Hossain (30) also made important contributions.