IML 2025 | "The standard of playing was good, it was competitive": Tendulkar

India Masters clinched the inaugural International Masters League (IML) 2025 T20 title by beating West Indies Masters by six wickets in the final in Raipur on Sunday.

Led by cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, India Masters produced a clinical all-round performance to outclass Brian Lara’s West Indies Masters in front of nearly 50,000 spectators at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh (SVNS) International Stadium in Raipur.

Terrific combo 

India Masters restricted their opponents to 148-7, and then rode a fluent 67-run opening stand from Tendulkar (25) in the company of Ambati Rayudu (74), setting the tone for the chase.

While Tendulkar’s innings was decorated with vintage cover drives and flicks, Rayudu attacked furiously.

Also Read: IPL 2025 | “Never leaving the battlefield”: Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya

Tendulkar’s 18-ball innings came to an end through pacer Tino Best even as  Rayudu blasted his way to a 34-ball fifty and beyond.

“I thought 148 was a good total, excellent total that we restricted them to. And then when you are chasing a total like that, the start becomes important, you know, not to lose early wickets and also not to get bogged down and slow down the game. So, I thought all in all we finished really strong in the first innings and the second half of the game again, we started very strong. So, that kind of set the tone for us,” said Tendulkar.

About the first edition of the Masters, Tendulkar said:  “The first season has been successful and more so because we ended up lifting the trophy. The standard of playing was good, it was competitive and players were carrying few niggles here and there. A big thank you to all the physios, not just our team, but all the teams because we knew that at this stage of your life, there are going to be injuries here and there. The physios and the masseurs really had to work hard to get everyone back on the field.”

30 years ago, that Masters!

Interestingly 30 years ago in 1995, Tendulkar was leading Mumbai to a Ranji Trophy win while the BSI Masters were held at the Brabourne Stadium. In a repeat of the 1983 World Cup final, this time West Indies beat India in the final in which Dilip Vengsarkar’s glittering hundred went in vain.

Brief scores
West Indies Masters 148-7 (L Simmons 57, D Smith 45;  V Kumar 3-26) lost to India Masters 149-4 (A Rayudu 74, S Tendulkar 25; A Nurse 2-22) by six wickets