India Masters vs Sri Lanka Masters Highlights, IML T20: IND win thriller in inaugural IML contest, beat SL by 4 runs

India Masters vs Sri Lanka Masters Highlights, IML 2025: Sachin Tendulkar celebrates a wicket alongside Ambati Rayudu and Irfan Pathan.

India Masters vs Sri Lanka Masters Highlights, IML 2025: It was an absolutely electric start to the new International Masters League, as India and Sri Lanka combined for nearly 450 runs on the night in a game that went down to the wire. Some massive death overs hitting from Sri Lanka kept them alive in the contest despite needing 13 runs per over for much of the chase, but wickets for Irfan Pathan and a cold-blooded final over by Abhimanyu Mithun ensured India hung on for a 4-run win. Earlier, after being put in to bat, it was Stuart Binny who set the platform for Yusuf Pathan to go on and boost India's total with some towering sixes at the end of the innings.

Cricket fans, rejoice! Many of your childhood returns tonight as Indian and Sri Lankan superstars of yesteryear are back in action with the start of the inaugural edition of the International Masters League. Kicking off the season are the finalists of the 2011 World Cup and their superstars - Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Irfan Paathan, Kumar Sangakkara, Lahiru Thirimanne, Suranga Lakmal, Romesh Kaluwitharan and more.

While the ICC Champions Trophy rages on in Pakistan and the UAE, India will play host as some of the biggest names in the history of cricket return for the inaugural edition of the International Masters League, a T20 competition that will see legends of the game take each other on in a T20 competition in three cities across India. The first of these games to inaugurate the tournament will be between India Masters and Sri Lanka Masters at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, and an opportunity for cricket fans to watch some of their favourite cricketers from years gone by back on their screens.

The captains for these respective teams couldn’t get any more legendary, with the Indian team being led by none other than Sachin Tendulkar, and Sri Lanka captained by long-time skipper and one of the best batters in the history of the sport in Kumar Sangakkara. Tendulkar will lead a team that has star names such as Suresh Raina, the Pathan brothers, and Yuvraj Singh, while Sangakkara’s team of Lankans will have players such as Upul Tharanga, Lahiru Thirmanne, and Suranga Lakmal.

These two teams will raise the curtain on a tournament that also consists of representatives from Australia, England, South Africa, and the West Indies, with each team playing each other in a league format before the top 4 qualify for the semifinals. There is plenty of talent loaded into the Indian team: outside of these names, they also possess plenty of experienced pros who know their way around T20 cricket, with many having played significant roles for teams in the IPL.

Expect plenty of power-packed batting from this Indian team, which has six-hitters like Raina, Yuvraj, and the Pathans, which is something the legends on the other teams will be in awe of as they look to adapt to the T20 format. Of course, these are also players that have kept sharp in recent years in other similar legends tournaments, and are no strangers to the demands of T20 cricket themselves.

The headliners, however, will still be Sachin and Sanga. There have been many clips of Tendulkar preparing for this tournament in the nets, and there is no question that hordes of people will tune in to watch this hero of their childhood, one of the most legendary names in the sport, while Sangakkara has also gone viral on the internet for playing in the odd club games and looking like he could still cut it at the highest stage.

Nevertheless, in a competition that will be certain to re-ignite the competitive flame in these characters of the past, there will be just as many who are desperate to take the wickets of these legends. When it comes down to it, these are still athletes, and competition and the will to win runs through their veins.