The India vs. Pakistan match reached new heights and broke viewing records amid rumors that there wasn’t a rivalry because of how one-sided recent history has been. 163 million people watched the match on JioHotstar, which is the most for any ICC T20 event and more than even the 2024 India vs. South Africa T20 World Cup Final.
The historical figures demonstrate that even though India has a dominant 8-1 head-to-head record in T20 World Cup matches, cricket’s “Greatest Rivalry” has not faded. Pakistan’s government first announced that the team would not play against India in Colombo, but after discussions with Bangladeshi counterpart Aminul Islam, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi, and ICC deputy chair Imran Khwaja in Lahore, the boycott decision was rescinded, adding to the match’s significance.
Outstanding digital Performance
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026’s official digital and broadcast partner, JioStar, declared today that the match broke several records. When compared to the 2024 India-Pakistan encounter, the match’s digital reach increased by 56%, and once the boycott threat was lifted, fan participation skyrocketed on all platforms.
With 1.2 times as many viewers as the India-Pakistan encounter from the previous year, the game had the biggest match reach in the league stage of any ICC T20 event on mobile. As fans flocked to JioHotstar to watch the much-anticipated tournament that almost didn’t happen, connected TV viewership skyrocketed, hitting 2.4 times higher than the 2024 edition.
Large Participation on all platform
A 42% increase in consumption over the previous edition, the match generated an astounding 20 billion minutes of cumulative watch time across all screens. India maintained their World Cup dominance over their bitter rivals thanks to their thrilling performance, which kept viewers interested throughout the match.
With a 71% increase in TVR (television ratings), Linear TV produced equally impressive numbers, making the India-Pakistan T20 match the highest-rated since 2021. The record-breaking engagement demonstrated the enduring ability of traditional broadcast to provide large-scale, group viewing experiences.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026’s overall digital reach at the end of the group stage is already expected to surpass that of the previous edition due to associate nations competing fiercely and putting on a show.
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