National U-19 Cricket Tournament Kicks Off in Udaipur

Udaipur – The 68th National U-19 Girls' Cricket Tournament, organized by the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), commenced on Wednesday at Mahatma Gandhi Government School, Sundarwas, Udaipur. This is the first time that Udaipur is hosting an SGFI national-level school tournament.

The tournament was inaugurated by Tribal Minister Babulal Kharadi, who played a ceremonial ball to mark the beginning of the event. The opening ceremony was presided over by City MLA Tarachand Jain, while notable dignitaries such as social worker Chandragupt Singh Chauhan, Kishanlal Khatik, University Sports Board Secretary Bheemraj Patel, Joint Director Ranjana Kothari, Chief District Education Officer Mahendra Kumar Jain, and Additional District Education Officer Murli Dhar Choubisa were present as special guests.

Minister Babulal Kharadi took the salute during the march-past of participating teams and hoisted the tournament flag. He administered the sportsmanship oath to the players and interacted with team captains before officially declaring the tournament open.

Grand Opening Ceremony

The host school’s Principal Ashutosh Tuli and senior physical education teacher Vijay Singh Rawat welcomed the guests. The ceremony featured a Guard of Honor by NCC girl cadets, followed by cultural performances and a special yoga dance presentation by students. The national song Vande Mataram was performed by Shabnam Chaturvedi, accompanied by musicians Narendra Kumar Verma and Akhilesh Sharma. The event was conducted by Harish Vaishnav, Richa Rupal, Vanita Vagrecha, Payal Kumawat, and Renuka Theoplous.

Tournament Matches Begin

Following the opening ceremony, matches commenced across six venues in the city, including MB Cricket Ground (A & B), BN College Ground, Railway Training Ground (Pratap Nagar), Rajasthan Agriculture College Ground, and Geetanjali Medical College Ground.

Results of Key Matches

Rajasthan vs. Jammu & Kashmir
Rajasthan secured a 7-wicket victory at BN College Ground. Jammu & Kashmir, batting first, were bowled out for just 38 runs in 15 overs. Rajasthan comfortably chased the target in 4.3 overs, with Vrinda Sharma scoring 14 runs and Nisha contributing 13 runs. Rajasthan’s Taniska took 4 wickets for just 4 runs, while Medhavi claimed 2 wickets for 9 runs.

Telangana vs. Madhya Pradesh
At Geetanjali Sports Ground, Telangana defeated Madhya Pradesh by 20 runs. Telangana posted 85 runs, while Madhya Pradesh fell short, getting all out for 65 runs.

Uttar Pradesh vs. Uttarakhand
Uttar Pradesh won by 4 wickets in a closely contested match at MB Cricket Ground A.

Chhattisgarh vs. CISCE
Chhattisgarh claimed a convincing 8-wicket victory at Rajasthan Agriculture College Ground, successfully chasing a 102-run target with just 2 wickets lost.

A total of 22 teams from across the country, including Maharashtra, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi, West Bengal, Kerala, Punjab, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Bihar, CBSE WF, IPSC, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, CISCE, and Rajasthan, are participating in this prestigious tournament.

A Grand Sporting Event for Young Cricketers

Additional District Education Officer Murli Dhar Choubisa highlighted that the event aims to promote school-level cricket and nurture young sports talent in India. The tournament continues to witness thrilling matches, setting the stage for an intense and exciting competition in the coming days.