India Masters Lift IML 2025 Title (Source: @Aneesh_98/X.com)
Indian Masters achieved a dominant victory in the final of the International Masters League T20 (IML) 2025, against West Indies Masters in Raipur to lift the title by six wickets. After a brilliant bowling effort from Vinay Kumar and Shahbaz Nadeem, Ambati Rayudu's 74 helped India finish the chase inside 18 overs.
Here’s how Final between India Masters vs West Indies Masters panned out in Raipur:
Dwayne Smith Aggressive But India Masters Pick Regular Wickets
After opting to bat first against the India Masters, the West Indian Masters, led by Brian Lara, started off decently. Dwayne Smith displayed his aggressive self in the first over as his skipper, Lara, who opened the innings alongside Smith, was dismissed in the fourth over by experienced Vinay Kumar while trying to cut the ball and as he was caught by Pawan Negi at backward point.
West Indies Masters were 34 for one down when William Perkins joined Smith at the crease, but the former couldn't really make any significant contribution and left for just six, which is what skipper Lara also achieved. However, Smith at the other end was going strong as he punished the bowlers right from the beginning of the innings.
During the 35 deliveries he played, Smith was able to smash six fours and two sixes to help his side get past the 50-run mark inside the powerplay. However, unfortunately for the West Indies Masters, Smith was knocked over by Shahbaz Nadeem with a brilliant delivery for 45 as West Indian Masters lost their third for 67 inside nine overs.
Nadeem claimed his second of the night after previously sending Perkins back to the hut. Meanwhile, Lendl Simmons, who walked onto the crease, was equally brilliant, playing cautiously while finding boundaries at regular intervals. But things didn't look great at the other end where Ravi Rampaul was trapped in front by Stuart Binny in the 11th over, reducing West Indies Masters to 77/4 in 10.4 overs.
Vinay, Nadeem Support India To Restrict WIM To 148 Despite Simmons' Fifty
After the departure of Rampaul, Chadwick Walton made his way out to the center only to be knocked over by Negi on the final delivery of the 12th over, with the Caribbean side staring at potential trouble with five down for 85.
Despite the scoreboard pressure, Lendl Simmons continued his merry ways, as he found boundaries after boundaries with five in total while smashing a lone six in his knock of 57 from 41 deliveries to help take his side to 146 when he had to walk back with four deliveries remaining in the game.
Vinay Kumar claimed Simmons' wicket on the second delivery of the final over, while Ashley Nurse was his third victim of the night, whom he dismissed on the last ball of the innings with West Indies Masters only being able to get as far as 148 after the conclusion of this 20 overs while losing seven of their wickets.
Kumar was absolutely magnificent with a spell of 3/26 in his three overs, while Shahbaz Nadeem was unbelievably economical with figures of 2/12 in his four. For West Indies Masters, the major runs came from the sixth wicket partnership between Simmons and Dinesh Ramdin stitching together a 61-run stand, while Simmons was the main contributor with 41 of those 61 runs coming from his willow.
Rayudu Punishes West Indian Bowlers As Indian Masters Make Positive Start
Chasing 149, which looks severely under par, the Indian Masters went on a rampage with runs flowing off their bats with ease. The opening duo of Ambati Rayudu and Sachin Tendulkar were aggressive right from the beginning, as they put the opposition bowlers under immense pressure.
By the end of the powerplay, they were cruising with 55 on the board without losing a single wicket and just six overs down. While Rayudu was showing signs of being aggressive, Tendulkar went outright against Jerome Taylor in the sixth over, smashing a six and a four on consecutive deliveries whereas Rayudu achieved a similar feat in the fourth over previously.
Despite going on a rampage, the Indian side lost the skipper Tendulkar on the final delivery of the eighth over for 25 as he tried to play aggressively against Tino Best but was caught at the boundary by Walton.
After Tendulkar's departure, Rayudu did not take any halt as he was continuously aggressive against the Caribbean bowlers. He reached his half-century in 34 deliveries, when not even 10 overs were completed.
Soon after, the Indian side lost Gurkeerat Mann on the second ball of the 12th over for just 14 as Nurse bagged his first wicket of the night while Walton was again at the boundary line to repeat a similar feat but this time against Mann.
Rayudu's Fluent 74 Take India Masters To IML 2025 Title With 2.5 Overs To Spare
The Indian side was far ahead in the chase with just two down and not much required for victory. Yuvraj Singh then joined Rayudu at the crease with formalities left for the Indian Masters. While Rayudu was continuously batting aggressively, Yuvraj at the other end had a heated exchange with pacer Tino Best for a good part of the 13th and 14th over.
Despite all the hustle and bustle, the Indian Masters were determined in their approach. Rayudu who was batting on 74, lost his wicket to Sulieman Benn in the 15th over as they lost third wicket at the score of 127.
With just 22 more required for victory, this fluent innings by Rayudu helped India get inch closer as India bossed this game perfectly. Ambati's knock consisted of nine fours and three sixes, as he only consumed 50 deliveries for his valiant effort.
However, soon after Rayudu's departure, four deliveries later, big hitter Yusuf Pathan was trapped in front by Ashley Nurse for a three-ball duck, which he reviewed but to no avail.
Despite the two jittering moments, the Indian side finished the game comfortably as Yuvraj Singh (13*) and Stuart Binny (16*) helped India get past the finishing line with six wickets and 17 deliveries to spare.
From the bowling lineup, Ashley Nurse picked figures of 2/22 in his 3.1 overs, while Best and Benn picked one apiece. Whereas this outright victory by the Indian Masters helped them to the International Masters League 2025 title.
.jpg?type=mq "Yuvraj Singh's Fight!")
