When Nehru took on Radhakrishnan on the cricket field!

Rare footage of the match played for raising funds for flood-affected people shows Nehru and Radhakrishnan, along with other parliamentarians, battle it out on the cricket ground watched by a large crowd.

An unusual cricket match took place in 1953 that saw the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru leading a team of parliamentarians against vice president S Radhakrishnan's side. Rare footage of the match played for raising funds for flood-affected people shows Nehru and Radhakrishnan, along with other parliamentarians, battle it out on the cricket ground watched by a large crowd. Nehru, who was then two months shy of his 64th birthday, won the toss and chose to bat as parliamentarians rushed out to the ground dressed in whites, according to the footage shared on X by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who credited an archivist of Indian cricket for it. ''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, accompanying the video. Interestingly, in the video, Nehru is seen batting alongside the then leader of Opposition A K Gopalan in the second innings of the two-day match. The then president Rajendra Prasad and other Union ministers are seen enjoying the match, according to the footage. Nehru's team declared the first innings at 220/3, while the vice president's side ended the first day at 86/2. As the second day was about to begin, the MPs strutted out wearing whites with the commentator remarking that ''cricket knows no politics''. The footage also has Nehru chasing a delivery till the boundary line to prevent a four. He is seen fielding in close positions. During the match, Nehru and Radhakrishnan appealed for generous contributions for flood relief. The Vice President's XI declared their first innings at 231 for the loss of six wickets, while in the second innings, Nehru's team declared at 160 for three. During the second innings, Nehru came out to bat with the commentator saying that he was wielding the willow after 40 years. The match ended in a draw and Nehru also played the role of an auctioneer at the end to raise funds. Nearly Rs 1 lakh was raised for flood relief through the exhibition match. Parliamentarians have often played exhibition matches for various causes and there have been several instances of politicians showing great skill on the cricket pitch. In 2024, MPs took part in a friendly 20-over match at Delhi's Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium to raise awareness against tuberculosis. Lok Sabha Speaker XI, led by Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur, defeated the Rajya Sabha Chairman XI by 73 runs. Thakur was adjudged the 'man of the match' for his unbeaten innings of 111 runs.

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