The BCCI is known to have organized numerous benefit matches during the previous century for financially helping the cricketers who represented India. The star Indian players always stepped up for a cause and were part of many other matches where the motto was to raise funds for natural calamities. The Indian players did give a thought or two to help the neighbourhood nations by playing matches. On some occasions, their helping hand even went across to other continents as well.

Here we look at five lesser-known instances of the Indian players taking part in charity matches:

5. United Way Charity Match – World XI vs West Indies in 1990:

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-415681" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Imran-Khan-1990.jpg" alt="Imran Khan 1990" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415681" class="wp-caption-text">Imran Khan 1990. (Photo by Steven Siewert/Fairfax Media via Getty Images).</figcaption>

West Indies faced off World XI team in 1990 at the Toronto Skydome part of raising funds for Canada’s non-profitable organization, the United Way. The World XI had a majority of Indian players namely Mohammad Azharuddin, Kapil Dev, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/i-ended-up-shouting-at-laxman-sachin-tendulkar-narrates-an-incident-from-the-desert-storm-match-when-emotions-got-the-better-of-him/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Sachin Tendulkar</strong></a>, Maninder Singh and Manoj Prabhakar.

The World XI team, who batted first, posted 309/6 in their 50 overs. The highlight of the innings was a 116-run partnership between young Tendulkar (54) and all-rounder Imran Khan (62) for the 5th wicket. Carlisle Best (96) and Richie Richardson (78) dominated the chase with a 171-run partnership for the 2nd wicket. West Indies went on to chase down the target with four balls and four wickets to spare.

Carlisle and Tendulkar were jointly awarded the player of the match. The first edition of United Way Charity match was held in 1989 which did not include any Indians but collected 550,000 USD through it. Dilip Vengsarkar took part of the United Way Charity match held in 1991.

4. ‘Gujarat Earthquake Victims’ Benefit match – India XI vs Australians in 2001:

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-415683" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rahul-Dravid-2001.jpg" alt="Rahul Dravid 2001" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415683" class="wp-caption-text">Rahul Dravid 2001. (Photo Source: Hamish Blair/ALLSPORT)</figcaption>

After a closely fought Test series, the Indian team was set to host Australia in a 5-match ODI series. Soon after the deciding Test in Chennai, both India and Australia came up for a noble cause. A 40-over match named by Siyaram’s Cup was played for the benefit of the ‘Gujarat Earthquake Victims’. An earthquake in Gujarat earlier that year reported at least 14,000 deaths with another 150,000 being injured.

Australia rested some of their top players for this match and decided to use it as a warm-up game. Even Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly gave a miss to the game as <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/rahul-dravid-made-me-feel-like-an-11-year-old-spinner-graeme-swann/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Rahul Dravid</strong></a> led the India XI. The over-rate of Australia was quite good as they bowled 12 overs in just 39 minutes which were enough for Sachin Tendulkar to smash as many as 93 runs. Tendulkar held the majority of the strike during his opening partnership with Sadagoppan Ramesh as 127 runs came in only 12 overs.

Sachin entertained the full capacity crowd with his boundaries as he struck 18 fours and two maximums in the 49 balls he faced. Fifties by Hemang Badani and Vijay Dahiya helped India XI to finish with a mammoth score of 338/8. Australians didn’t have much to cheer about their chase barring the quick-fire fifties by Michael Bevan and Justin Langer. They were bowled out for only 184 in 27.1 overs and lost the match by 154 runs.

3. Flood Relief Match – India vs SM Gavaskar&#8217;s Invitation XI in 1988:

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-415686" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sunil-Gavaskar.jpg" alt="Sunil Gavaskar" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415686" class="wp-caption-text">Sunil Gavaskar. (Photo by David Munden/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)</figcaption>

Bangladesh hosted the Wills Asia Cup in 1988 which began in the latter half of October. India won the title by defeating Sri Lanka in the final. The tournament was played only a month after the country was drenched in floods. These floods caused damage in Bangladesh between July and September where 52% of the total area turned out to be flooded area. More than 2300 people were reported as dead due to those floods.

To help the victims of the floods, a team led by <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/i-have-almost-come-down-to-my-debut-series-weight-sunil-gavaskar-tells-his-story-in-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Sunil Gavaskar</strong></a> faced the Asian champions India in Dhaka, a day after the tournament final. The team named SM Gavaskar&#8217;s Invitation XI was led by Gavaskar himself, a year after his last appearance in International cricket for India. 12 players per team were allowed to take part in this match. India fielded with 8 players from the final-winning side while the Gavaskar’s XI had the likes of Zaheer Abbas, Duleep Mendis, Arun Lal and few more players from the four Asian teams.

Kapil Dev opened the batting for India alongside Kris Srikkanth. They shared 110 runs for the first wicket out of which Kapil scored 82 runs. He struck 14 fours and two maximums as India ended up with 246/9 in the restricted 40 overs. Zaheer Abbas top-scored for the SM Gavaskar’s XI with 56 runs but they finished with only 241/9 and lost the match by mere 5 runs. The funds raised through this match for the flood victims was nearly 70,000 USD.

4. Prime Minister&#8217;s Relief Fund match – India XI vs Pakistanis in 1983:

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-415688" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Kris-Srikkanth.jpg" alt="Kris Srikkanth" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415688" class="wp-caption-text">Kris Srikkanth. (Photo by Patrick Eagar/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)</figcaption>

Pakistan toured India in 1983 to face the then World Champions, India in two ODIs and three Tests. The first ODI hosted by Hyderabad saw India winning by 4 wickets while the first Test held in Bangalore ended in a draw. The 2nd Test match was scheduled to be played in Jalandhar but the two teams came together to clash off in an exhibition One-Day match to raise funds for the Prime Minister&#8217;s Relief Fund. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi was set to host the match that too under lights.

About 70,000 were in attendance for this match while the remaining seats (5000-8000) were reserved for security. Opening batsmen Mohsin Khan (50) and Mudassar Nazar (65) scored fifties by adding 105 runs for the opening wicket. <strong>Pakistan</strong> finished with 197/3 in the restricted 50 overs as a floodlight failure saw the game being a 50-over affair instead of a 60-over game. Indian openers Kris Srikkanth and Sunil Gavaskar both got run out early on and the middle-order struggled to put on a decent effort.

They lost six wickets for only 80 runs and were reeling at 101/7 when Madan Lal arrived at the crease to join Kirti Azad who earlier picked all 3 wickets of Pakistan to fall. Azad showed his determination with the bat as well by sharing an 86-run stand for the 8th wicket with Madan who was dismissed by Zaheer Abbas. Ravi Shastri also fell to Zaheer leaving India only 7 runs away from a win. But Kirti Azad took India over the line in the last over with an unbeaten 71 with six fours and 4 maximums.

It was the first time India hosted a cricket match under floodlit but the first ODI under lights was hosted later in 1984. Till that point, only Sydney Cricket Ground hosted day-night ODI matches. During the last World Cup, senior sports journalist Makarand Waingankar shared payments made to the Indian team for the match. The match fee and daily allowance for this fixture earned every Indian player only 2100 INR. Pakistan returned home winless as they lost the 2nd ODI as well while the remaining two Tests ended in a draw.

<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Each one of them deserve 10 Cr. <a href="https://t.co/BzBYSgqit6">pic.twitter.com/BzBYSgqit6</a></p><p>&mdash; Makarand Waingankar (@wmakarand) <a href="https://twitter.com/wmakarand/status/1150962159234375682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2019</a></p>

1. Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital Fund – Pakistan vs India in 1989:

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-415692" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sanjay-Manjrekar.jpg" alt="Sanjay Manjrekar" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415692" class="wp-caption-text">Sanjay Manjrekar. (Photo by Patrick Eagar/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)</figcaption>

India’s tour of Pakistan in 1989-90 was marked to witness the debuts of Sachin Tendulkar and Waqar Younis. The duo were in opposite teams a week before their Test debuts as Pakistan and India clashed off in a Charity match. On the eve of the 3-day practice game against BCCP Patron’s XI, the Indian team took on Pakistan in a one-day match at the Gaddafi Stadium. The game was played to raise funds for Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital located in Lahore.

The hospital was the effort of the then Pakistan skipper <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/sachin-tendulkar-names-imran-khan-as-one-of-his-favourite-all-rounders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Imran Khan</strong></a> who built it in memory of his late mother Shaukat Khanum who passed away in the 1980s due to cancer. Sachin Tendulkar, during the 2006 Test series, what turned out to be his last tour to Pakistan, visited Imran Khan’s hospital along with his teammates including the then captain Rahul Dravid. Pakistan, who batted first in the match, finished with 187/7 in 37 overs with Rameez Raja scoring 56 and Imran Khan contributed 37 runs.

India’s chase was powered by a century stand between Navjot Singh Sidhu (69) and Sanjay Manjrekar (40). India were cruising in the chase at 138/1 before a middle-order collapse saw them limited to only 183/7. Interestingly, Pakistan won the other exhibition match played during that tour also by exactly four runs. The 1st game of the ODI series was abandoned without toss and hence, a 20-over match was played to please the crowd.

<p>The BCCI is known to have organized numerous benefit matches during the previous century for financially helping the cricketers who represented India. The star Indian players always stepped up for a cause and were part of many other matches where the motto was to raise funds for natural calamities. The Indian players did give a thought or two to help the neighbourhood nations by playing matches. On some occasions, their helping hand even went across to other continents as well.</p>
<h3>Here we look at five lesser-known instances of the Indian players taking part in charity matches:</h3>
<h3>5. United Way Charity Match – World XI vs West Indies in 1990:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_415681" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-415681" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-415681" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Imran-Khan-1990.jpg" alt="Imran Khan 1990" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415681" class="wp-caption-text">Imran Khan 1990. (Photo by Steven Siewert/Fairfax Media via Getty Images).</figcaption></figure>
<p>West Indies faced off World XI team in 1990 at the Toronto Skydome part of raising funds for Canada’s non-profitable organization, the United Way. The World XI had a majority of Indian players namely Mohammad Azharuddin, Kapil Dev, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/i-ended-up-shouting-at-laxman-sachin-tendulkar-narrates-an-incident-from-the-desert-storm-match-when-emotions-got-the-better-of-him/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Sachin Tendulkar</strong></a>, Maninder Singh and Manoj Prabhakar.</p>
<p>The World XI team, who batted first, posted 309/6 in their 50 overs. The highlight of the innings was a 116-run partnership between young Tendulkar (54) and all-rounder Imran Khan (62) for the 5th wicket. Carlisle Best (96) and Richie Richardson (78) dominated the chase with a 171-run partnership for the 2nd wicket. West Indies went on to chase down the target with four balls and four wickets to spare.</p>
<p>Carlisle and Tendulkar were jointly awarded the player of the match. The first edition of United Way Charity match was held in 1989 which did not include any Indians but collected 550,000 USD through it. Dilip Vengsarkar took part of the United Way Charity match held in 1991.</p>
<p></p>
<h3>4. ‘Gujarat Earthquake Victims’ Benefit match – India XI vs Australians in 2001:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_415683" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-415683" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-415683" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rahul-Dravid-2001.jpg" alt="Rahul Dravid 2001" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415683" class="wp-caption-text">Rahul Dravid 2001. (Photo Source: Hamish Blair/ALLSPORT)</figcaption></figure>
<p>After a closely fought Test series, the Indian team was set to host Australia in a 5-match ODI series. Soon after the deciding Test in Chennai, both India and Australia came up for a noble cause. A 40-over match named by Siyaram’s Cup was played for the benefit of the ‘Gujarat Earthquake Victims’. An earthquake in Gujarat earlier that year reported at least 14,000 deaths with another 150,000 being injured.</p>
<p>Australia rested some of their top players for this match and decided to use it as a warm-up game. Even Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly gave a miss to the game as <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/rahul-dravid-made-me-feel-like-an-11-year-old-spinner-graeme-swann/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Rahul Dravid</strong></a> led the India XI. The over-rate of Australia was quite good as they bowled 12 overs in just 39 minutes which were enough for Sachin Tendulkar to smash as many as 93 runs. Tendulkar held the majority of the strike during his opening partnership with Sadagoppan Ramesh as 127 runs came in only 12 overs.</p>
<p>Sachin entertained the full capacity crowd with his boundaries as he struck 18 fours and two maximums in the 49 balls he faced. Fifties by Hemang Badani and Vijay Dahiya helped India XI to finish with a mammoth score of 338/8. Australians didn’t have much to cheer about their chase barring the quick-fire fifties by Michael Bevan and Justin Langer. They were bowled out for only 184 in 27.1 overs and lost the match by 154 runs.</p>
<p></p>
<h3>3. Flood Relief Match – India vs SM Gavaskar’s Invitation XI in 1988:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_415686" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-415686" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-415686" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sunil-Gavaskar.jpg" alt="Sunil Gavaskar" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415686" class="wp-caption-text">Sunil Gavaskar. (Photo by David Munden/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Bangladesh hosted the Wills Asia Cup in 1988 which began in the latter half of October. India won the title by defeating Sri Lanka in the final. The tournament was played only a month after the country was drenched in floods. These floods caused damage in Bangladesh between July and September where 52% of the total area turned out to be flooded area. More than 2300 people were reported as dead due to those floods.</p>
<p>To help the victims of the floods, a team led by <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/i-have-almost-come-down-to-my-debut-series-weight-sunil-gavaskar-tells-his-story-in-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Sunil Gavaskar</strong></a> faced the Asian champions India in Dhaka, a day after the tournament final. The team named SM Gavaskar’s Invitation XI was led by Gavaskar himself, a year after his last appearance in International cricket for India. 12 players per team were allowed to take part in this match. India fielded with 8 players from the final-winning side while the Gavaskar’s XI had the likes of Zaheer Abbas, Duleep Mendis, Arun Lal and few more players from the four Asian teams.</p>
<p>Kapil Dev opened the batting for India alongside Kris Srikkanth. They shared 110 runs for the first wicket out of which Kapil scored 82 runs. He struck 14 fours and two maximums as India ended up with 246/9 in the restricted 40 overs. Zaheer Abbas top-scored for the SM Gavaskar’s XI with 56 runs but they finished with only 241/9 and lost the match by mere 5 runs. The funds raised through this match for the flood victims was nearly 70,000 USD.</p>
<p></p>
<h3>4. Prime Minister’s Relief Fund match – India XI vs Pakistanis in 1983:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_415688" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-415688" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-415688" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Kris-Srikkanth.jpg" alt="Kris Srikkanth" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415688" class="wp-caption-text">Kris Srikkanth. (Photo by Patrick Eagar/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Pakistan toured India in 1983 to face the then World Champions, India in two ODIs and three Tests. The first ODI hosted by Hyderabad saw India winning by 4 wickets while the first Test held in Bangalore ended in a draw. The 2nd Test match was scheduled to be played in Jalandhar but the two teams came together to clash off in an exhibition One-Day match to raise funds for the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi was set to host the match that too under lights.</p>
<p>About 70,000 were in attendance for this match while the remaining seats (5000-8000) were reserved for security. Opening batsmen Mohsin Khan (50) and Mudassar Nazar (65) scored fifties by adding 105 runs for the opening wicket. <strong>Pakistan</strong> finished with 197/3 in the restricted 50 overs as a floodlight failure saw the game being a 50-over affair instead of a 60-over game. Indian openers Kris Srikkanth and Sunil Gavaskar both got run out early on and the middle-order struggled to put on a decent effort.</p>
<p>They lost six wickets for only 80 runs and were reeling at 101/7 when Madan Lal arrived at the crease to join Kirti Azad who earlier picked all 3 wickets of Pakistan to fall. Azad showed his determination with the bat as well by sharing an 86-run stand for the 8th wicket with Madan who was dismissed by Zaheer Abbas. Ravi Shastri also fell to Zaheer leaving India only 7 runs away from a win. But Kirti Azad took India over the line in the last over with an unbeaten 71 with six fours and 4 maximums.</p>
<p>It was the first time India hosted a cricket match under floodlit but the first ODI under lights was hosted later in 1984. Till that point, only Sydney Cricket Ground hosted day-night ODI matches. During the last World Cup, senior sports journalist Makarand Waingankar shared payments made to the Indian team for the match. The match fee and daily allowance for this fixture earned every Indian player only 2100 INR. Pakistan returned home winless as they lost the 2nd ODI as well while the remaining two Tests ended in a draw.</p>
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<p></p>
<p></p>
<h3>1. Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital Fund – Pakistan vs India in 1989:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_415692" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-415692" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-415692" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sanjay-Manjrekar.jpg" alt="Sanjay Manjrekar" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415692" class="wp-caption-text">Sanjay Manjrekar. (Photo by Patrick Eagar/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>India’s tour of Pakistan in 1989-90 was marked to witness the debuts of Sachin Tendulkar and Waqar Younis. The duo were in opposite teams a week before their Test debuts as Pakistan and India clashed off in a Charity match. On the eve of the 3-day practice game against BCCP Patron’s XI, the Indian team took on Pakistan in a one-day match at the Gaddafi Stadium. The game was played to raise funds for Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital located in Lahore.</p>
<p>The hospital was the effort of the then Pakistan skipper <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/sachin-tendulkar-names-imran-khan-as-one-of-his-favourite-all-rounders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Imran Khan</strong></a> who built it in memory of his late mother Shaukat Khanum who passed away in the 1980s due to cancer. Sachin Tendulkar, during the 2006 Test series, what turned out to be his last tour to Pakistan, visited Imran Khan’s hospital along with his teammates including the then captain Rahul Dravid. Pakistan, who batted first in the match, finished with 187/7 in 37 overs with Rameez Raja scoring 56 and Imran Khan contributed 37 runs.</p>
<p>India’s chase was powered by a century stand between Navjot Singh Sidhu (69) and Sanjay Manjrekar (40). India were cruising in the chase at 138/1 before a middle-order collapse saw them limited to only 183/7. Interestingly, Pakistan won the other exhibition match played during that tour also by exactly four runs. The 1st game of the ODI series was abandoned without toss and hence, a 20-over match was played to please the crowd.</p>

<p>The BCCI is known to have organized numerous benefit matches during the previous century for financially helping the cricketers who represented India. The star Indian players always stepped up for a cause and were part of many other matches where the motto was to raise funds for natural calamities. The Indian players did give a thought or two to help the neighbourhood nations by playing matches. On some occasions, their helping hand even went across to other continents as well.</p>
<h3>Here we look at five lesser-known instances of the Indian players taking part in charity matches:</h3>
<h3>5. United Way Charity Match – World XI vs West Indies in 1990:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_415681" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-415681" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-415681" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Imran-Khan-1990.jpg" alt="Imran Khan 1990" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415681" class="wp-caption-text">Imran Khan 1990. (Photo by Steven Siewert/Fairfax Media via Getty Images).</figcaption></figure>
<p>West Indies faced off World XI team in 1990 at the Toronto Skydome part of raising funds for Canada’s non-profitable organization, the United Way. The World XI had a majority of Indian players namely Mohammad Azharuddin, Kapil Dev, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/i-ended-up-shouting-at-laxman-sachin-tendulkar-narrates-an-incident-from-the-desert-storm-match-when-emotions-got-the-better-of-him/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Sachin Tendulkar</strong></a>, Maninder Singh and Manoj Prabhakar.</p>
<p>The World XI team, who batted first, posted 309/6 in their 50 overs. The highlight of the innings was a 116-run partnership between young Tendulkar (54) and all-rounder Imran Khan (62) for the 5th wicket. Carlisle Best (96) and Richie Richardson (78) dominated the chase with a 171-run partnership for the 2nd wicket. West Indies went on to chase down the target with four balls and four wickets to spare.</p>
<p>Carlisle and Tendulkar were jointly awarded the player of the match. The first edition of United Way Charity match was held in 1989 which did not include any Indians but collected 550,000 USD through it. Dilip Vengsarkar took part of the United Way Charity match held in 1991.</p>
<p></p>
<h3>4. ‘Gujarat Earthquake Victims’ Benefit match – India XI vs Australians in 2001:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_415683" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-415683" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-415683" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rahul-Dravid-2001.jpg" alt="Rahul Dravid 2001" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415683" class="wp-caption-text">Rahul Dravid 2001. (Photo Source: Hamish Blair/ALLSPORT)</figcaption></figure>
<p>After a closely fought Test series, the Indian team was set to host Australia in a 5-match ODI series. Soon after the deciding Test in Chennai, both India and Australia came up for a noble cause. A 40-over match named by Siyaram’s Cup was played for the benefit of the ‘Gujarat Earthquake Victims’. An earthquake in Gujarat earlier that year reported at least 14,000 deaths with another 150,000 being injured.</p>
<p>Australia rested some of their top players for this match and decided to use it as a warm-up game. Even Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly gave a miss to the game as <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/rahul-dravid-made-me-feel-like-an-11-year-old-spinner-graeme-swann/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Rahul Dravid</strong></a> led the India XI. The over-rate of Australia was quite good as they bowled 12 overs in just 39 minutes which were enough for Sachin Tendulkar to smash as many as 93 runs. Tendulkar held the majority of the strike during his opening partnership with Sadagoppan Ramesh as 127 runs came in only 12 overs.</p>
<p>Sachin entertained the full capacity crowd with his boundaries as he struck 18 fours and two maximums in the 49 balls he faced. Fifties by Hemang Badani and Vijay Dahiya helped India XI to finish with a mammoth score of 338/8. Australians didn’t have much to cheer about their chase barring the quick-fire fifties by Michael Bevan and Justin Langer. They were bowled out for only 184 in 27.1 overs and lost the match by 154 runs.</p>
<p></p>
<h3>3. Flood Relief Match – India vs SM Gavaskar&#8217;s Invitation XI in 1988:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_415686" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-415686" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-415686" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sunil-Gavaskar.jpg" alt="Sunil Gavaskar" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415686" class="wp-caption-text">Sunil Gavaskar. (Photo by David Munden/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Bangladesh hosted the Wills Asia Cup in 1988 which began in the latter half of October. India won the title by defeating Sri Lanka in the final. The tournament was played only a month after the country was drenched in floods. These floods caused damage in Bangladesh between July and September where 52% of the total area turned out to be flooded area. More than 2300 people were reported as dead due to those floods.</p>
<p>To help the victims of the floods, a team led by <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/i-have-almost-come-down-to-my-debut-series-weight-sunil-gavaskar-tells-his-story-in-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Sunil Gavaskar</strong></a> faced the Asian champions India in Dhaka, a day after the tournament final. The team named SM Gavaskar&#8217;s Invitation XI was led by Gavaskar himself, a year after his last appearance in International cricket for India. 12 players per team were allowed to take part in this match. India fielded with 8 players from the final-winning side while the Gavaskar’s XI had the likes of Zaheer Abbas, Duleep Mendis, Arun Lal and few more players from the four Asian teams.</p>
<p>Kapil Dev opened the batting for India alongside Kris Srikkanth. They shared 110 runs for the first wicket out of which Kapil scored 82 runs. He struck 14 fours and two maximums as India ended up with 246/9 in the restricted 40 overs. Zaheer Abbas top-scored for the SM Gavaskar’s XI with 56 runs but they finished with only 241/9 and lost the match by mere 5 runs. The funds raised through this match for the flood victims was nearly 70,000 USD.</p>
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<h3>4. Prime Minister&#8217;s Relief Fund match – India XI vs Pakistanis in 1983:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_415688" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-415688" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-415688" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Kris-Srikkanth.jpg" alt="Kris Srikkanth" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415688" class="wp-caption-text">Kris Srikkanth. (Photo by Patrick Eagar/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Pakistan toured India in 1983 to face the then World Champions, India in two ODIs and three Tests. The first ODI hosted by Hyderabad saw India winning by 4 wickets while the first Test held in Bangalore ended in a draw. The 2nd Test match was scheduled to be played in Jalandhar but the two teams came together to clash off in an exhibition One-Day match to raise funds for the Prime Minister&#8217;s Relief Fund. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi was set to host the match that too under lights.</p>
<p>About 70,000 were in attendance for this match while the remaining seats (5000-8000) were reserved for security. Opening batsmen Mohsin Khan (50) and Mudassar Nazar (65) scored fifties by adding 105 runs for the opening wicket. <strong>Pakistan</strong> finished with 197/3 in the restricted 50 overs as a floodlight failure saw the game being a 50-over affair instead of a 60-over game. Indian openers Kris Srikkanth and Sunil Gavaskar both got run out early on and the middle-order struggled to put on a decent effort.</p>
<p>They lost six wickets for only 80 runs and were reeling at 101/7 when Madan Lal arrived at the crease to join Kirti Azad who earlier picked all 3 wickets of Pakistan to fall. Azad showed his determination with the bat as well by sharing an 86-run stand for the 8th wicket with Madan who was dismissed by Zaheer Abbas. Ravi Shastri also fell to Zaheer leaving India only 7 runs away from a win. But Kirti Azad took India over the line in the last over with an unbeaten 71 with six fours and 4 maximums.</p>
<p>It was the first time India hosted a cricket match under floodlit but the first ODI under lights was hosted later in 1984. Till that point, only Sydney Cricket Ground hosted day-night ODI matches. During the last World Cup, senior sports journalist Makarand Waingankar shared payments made to the Indian team for the match. The match fee and daily allowance for this fixture earned every Indian player only 2100 INR. Pakistan returned home winless as they lost the 2nd ODI as well while the remaining two Tests ended in a draw.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Each one of them deserve 10 Cr. <a href="https://t.co/BzBYSgqit6">pic.twitter.com/BzBYSgqit6</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Makarand Waingankar (@wmakarand) <a href="https://twitter.com/wmakarand/status/1150962159234375682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
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<h3>1. Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital Fund – Pakistan vs India in 1989:</h3>
<figure id="attachment_415692" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-415692" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-415692" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sanjay-Manjrekar.jpg" alt="Sanjay Manjrekar" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415692" class="wp-caption-text">Sanjay Manjrekar. (Photo by Patrick Eagar/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>India’s tour of Pakistan in 1989-90 was marked to witness the debuts of Sachin Tendulkar and Waqar Younis. The duo were in opposite teams a week before their Test debuts as Pakistan and India clashed off in a Charity match. On the eve of the 3-day practice game against BCCP Patron’s XI, the Indian team took on Pakistan in a one-day match at the Gaddafi Stadium. The game was played to raise funds for Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital located in Lahore.</p>
<p>The hospital was the effort of the then Pakistan skipper <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/sachin-tendulkar-names-imran-khan-as-one-of-his-favourite-all-rounders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Imran Khan</strong></a> who built it in memory of his late mother Shaukat Khanum who passed away in the 1980s due to cancer. Sachin Tendulkar, during the 2006 Test series, what turned out to be his last tour to Pakistan, visited Imran Khan’s hospital along with his teammates including the then captain Rahul Dravid. Pakistan, who batted first in the match, finished with 187/7 in 37 overs with Rameez Raja scoring 56 and Imran Khan contributed 37 runs.</p>
<p>India’s chase was powered by a century stand between Navjot Singh Sidhu (69) and Sanjay Manjrekar (40). India were cruising in the chase at 138/1 before a middle-order collapse saw them limited to only 183/7. Interestingly, Pakistan won the other exhibition match played during that tour also by exactly four runs. The 1st game of the ODI series was abandoned without toss and hence, a 20-over match was played to please the crowd.</p>

Here we look at five lesser-known instances of the Indian players taking part in charity matches.

5 Lesser known fundraising matches involving Indian teams and players

The BCCI is known to have organized numerous benefit matches during the previous century for financially helping the cricketers who represented India.