New Delhi: A rare cricket match played in 1953 saw then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru leading a team of parliamentarians against a side captained by former Vice President S Radhakrishnan, with the game organised to raise funds for people affected by floods.
The unusual match, watched by a large crowd, is captured in rare footage that shows Nehru, Radhakrishnan and several other parliamentarians competing on the cricket field. The video was shared on X by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who credited veteran Indian cricket archivist Jai Galgali for unearthing the footage.
“For the past nine years, Jai Galgali has been an extraordinary archivist of Indian cricket of a bygone era. This video he unearthed and uploaded is both unusual and fabulous,” Ramesh said in his post.
According to the footage, Nehru, who was just two months short of his 64th birthday at the time, won the toss and elected to bat as MPs took to the field dressed in whites. In a notable moment, Nehru is seen batting alongside the then Leader of the Opposition, A K Gopalan, during the second innings of the two-day match.
The video also shows then President Rajendra Prasad and several Union ministers watching the proceedings from the stands. Nehru’s team declared their first innings at 220 for three, while the Vice President’s XI ended the opening day at 86 for two.
As play resumed on the second day, parliamentarians again walked out in whites, with the commentator remarking that “cricket knows no politics”. The footage captures Nehru actively fielding, including chasing a ball to the boundary to stop a four and taking up close-in fielding positions.
During the match, both Nehru and Radhakrishnan appealed to spectators for generous contributions towards flood relief. The Vice President’s XI later declared their first innings at 231 for six, while in the second innings Nehru’s team declared at 160 for three.
When Nehru came out to bat in the second innings, the commentator noted that he was wielding the bat after a gap of 40 years. The match eventually ended in a draw, after which Nehru took on the role of an auctioneer to help raise additional funds.
Nearly Rs 1 lakh was collected for flood relief through the exhibition match.
Parliamentarians have a long history of playing exhibition cricket matches for social causes. More recently, in 2024, Members of Parliament participated in a friendly 20-over match at Delhi’s Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium to raise awareness against tuberculosis.
In that match, the Lok Sabha Speaker XI, led by Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur, defeated the Rajya Sabha Chairman XI by 73 runs, with Thakur being named ‘man of the match’ for his unbeaten 111.
With PTI inputs