West Indies edge Sri Lanka in IML 2025 semifinal
15 Mar 2025

The West Indies Masters pulled off a thrilling six-run win over the Sri Lanka Masters in the semifinals of the International Masters League (IML) 2025.

Denesh Ramdin and Brian Lara's stellar show, along with Tino Best's exceptional bowling, helped the Caribbean team clinch the hard-fought win.

The Caribbean team will now take on India Masters in the final match on Sunday at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur Chhattisgarh.

Lara and Ramdin shine for West Indies
Key performances

In their innings, West Indies Masters suffered an early blow as Dwayne Smith was dismissed cheaply.

However, William Perkins and Lendl Simmons steadied the ship with a solid 43-run partnership.

Brian Lara played a crucial role in anchoring the innings with his stroke-filled 41 runs against Sri Lanka's disciplined bowling attack.

Denesh Ramdin then took over, scoring an explosive unbeaten 50 off just 22 balls to guide West Indies to a total of 179/5.

Tino Best's bowling brilliance secures victory
Bowling heroics

In reply to West Indies's total, Sri Lanka Masters faltered from the start as wickets kept falling at regular intervals.

Tino Best was the chief architect of their downfall, with an incisive spell of pace bowling where he took four wickets and restricted Sri Lanka to 173/9.

Despite Asela Gunaratne's valiant effort of a stellar 66 off 42 balls for Sri Lanka, it wasn't enough against a disciplined West Indies bowling attack led by Best.

West Indies Masters to face India in final
Final showdown

The final match of IML 2025 promises to be an exciting showdown between the West Indies Masters and India Masters.

As mentioned, the Caribbean team booked their place in the finals with a narrow victory over Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, the Indian unit beat Australia Masters in the semi-final to secure the final berth.

Notably, India beat WI when the two teams met in the league stage.