Landmark historic first: Chhattisgarh U-16 qualify for Vijay Merchant knockout stage

Raipur: Chhattisgarh have qualified for the knockout stage of the Men's U-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy for the first time, riding on a gritty draw against Rajasthan and consistent performances across both batting and bowling in the league phase.The BCCI-organised Men's U-16 Vijay Merchant Multi-Day Trophy 2025 began on Dec 7, with Chhattisgarh's fourth league match against Rajasthan played at Gwalior from Dec 23-25. Despite conceding the first-innings lead and having to fight for survival on the final day, Chhattisgarh's ability to draw the game was enough to secure qualification from Elite Group B, where they finished second behind Punjab on the points table. This marks the first time Chhattisgarh U-16 have progressed to the knockouts of the tournament, underlining the steady rise of the state's age-group cricket structure.After Rajasthan U-16 won the toss and opted to field, Chhattisgarh managed 192 in 72 overs in their first innings, built around Chandransh Yadav's 58, with useful contributions from Tushya Prajapati (42), Aditya Byadwal and Prateek Gandharv (26 each), Ujjawal Markam (23) and an unbeaten 19 from Arshveer Singh Bhatia. Rajasthan replied with 211 in 92.3 overs to claim the first-innings lead, powered by Anurag Lakhan's 67, Rohan Choudhary's 47 and Yash Sharma's 41, while Chhattisgarh's bowlers kept them in check through Yatharth Singh Chouhan's 3 wickets and two each from Arham Nahar and Tushya Prajapati, with Arshveer adding one. Facing scoreboard pressure in the second innings, Chhattisgarh produced a strong 282 in 103.4 overs. Over the league phase, top-order batter Tushya Prajapati aggregated 193 runs in 6 innings across 4 matches with a highest score of 103, and Aditya Byadwal compiled 181 runs in 6 innings with a best of 95, underlining Chhattisgarh's emerging top-order strength heading into the knockouts.