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Remembering the British Asian Cup: When Rajasthan Royals toured the UK and took down Middlesex

by Wisden Staff May 5, 2021 - 2:49pm 2 minute read

Rajasthan Royals are the only side from the Indian Premier League to play an official T20 game outside the IPL and Champions League T20.

In July 2009, Rajasthan Royals, the IPL champions (2008), and Middlesex, the English Twenty20 champions (2008), played a charity game, called the British Asian Cup, at Lord’s. The event was supposed to be a yearly affair between the T20 league champions of both nations, but it never happened after the one-off match in 2009.

A portion of the earnings from the match went to the British Asian Trust. Shane Warne led the IPL champions while Shaun Udal led the Middlesex side. It was Warne’s final competitive match at the Mecca of Cricket and the leg-spinner flew in from Las Vegas on the eve of the match.

RR also had Sohail Tanvir in their ranks although he wasn’t part of the 2009 IPL campaign prior to this game after India-Pakistan relations went downhill. Middlesex had Murali Kartik, India’s left-arm spinner, in their team for this game aside from a few international stars of today – Dawid Malan and Eoin Morgan.

Interestingly, on the eve of the game, Rajasthan faced Middlesex’s second XI side in a warm-up game and won by 28 runs. For the main game on Monday, a large crowd gathered at Lord’s for the one-off T20.

Uncapped sensation from the first IPL season Swapnil Asnodkar made a 40-ball 41 while Mohammad Kaif chipped in with a 35-ball 41. However, it was the late cameo by Dmitri Mascarenhas – a 16-ball 32 – that helped Rajasthan post a formidable 162 on board. Malan’s part-time leg breaks proved to be useful as he was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2-23.

In the run-chase, Tanvir picked up a three-wicket haul while a rusty Warne still finished with figures of 1-24 in his four overs. Mascarenhas chipped in with two wickets to complete an all-round performance. For Middlesex, Malan and Gareth Berg played a handy role, but Malan’s run-a-ball 34 from No.5 wasn’t quite enough for Middlesex to even get close. Rajasthan ended up winning by 46 runs.