T20 World Cup: India vs Pakistan most-watched T20 match in history, says broadcaster

The much-anticipated India-Pakistan match at the ongoing T20 World Cup drew a record 167 million viewers, making it the most-watched T20 International to date, according to the event’s official broadcaster. The T20 World Cup had a total reach of 238 million up until last week, which included the Qualifiers and the first 12 games of the Super 12 stage, according to a release from Star India. The previous highest-watched T20 game was the 2016 T20 World Cup semifinal between India and West Indies, which drew 136 million viewers.

“With a reach of 167 million, the highly-anticipated India-Pakistan clash on October 24th, an event that saw the arch-rivals meet at an ICC tournament after two years, is now the most viewed T20I match, exceeding the previous highIndia-West Indies 2016 ICC World T20 semi-finals,” the release said.

On October 24, India and Pakistan opened their campaign against each other, with the Men in Green defeating their arch-rivals by a 10-wicket margin.

“The India-Pakistan match has created history by clocking a record reach of 167 million viewers, making it the most viewed T20I match till date,” a Star India spokesperson was quoted as saying. “We have continually strived to grow the audience base for marquee Cricket and this record is a testament to our efforts across high-decibel campaigns, enhanced storytelling, dedicated regional programming, and consumer innovations.”

While Pakistan have advanced to the semifinals, India exited the tournament on Monday.

“There’s no doubt that the result of the match and India’s exit from the tournament disappointed fans but the record viewership displays the unique power of Cricket to engage audiences at an unprecedented scale, the spokesperson added.

MIGHTY WIN FOR PAKISTAN

Pakistan openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam stitched a fine unbeaten partnership to help their nation record a historic win against arch-rivals India. Rizwan and Azam combined to record the highest opening partnership by any team against Team India in the history of T20Is. The duo stitched a fine stand of 152 runs to help Pakistan emerge victorious by a margin of 10 wickets, in their Super 12 Group 2 encounter of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021 against India. The former recorded their maiden win in T20 and ODI World Cup clashes against the latter, making it all the more significant. India were unbeaten in 12 ICC T20 and ODI World Cup encounters going into the match, but the run has certainly ended.

Rizwan and Azam further helped Pakistan record a triumph by a margin of 10 wickets in T20Is for the first time, scoring fine half-centuries. The former accumulated 79 runs from 55 deliveries in an innings comprising of 6 boundaries and three sixes. Azam smashed 68 runs from 52 balls in a knock that included six fours and two maximums. None of the Indian bowlers managed to make much of an impact.