The recent India v Pakistan T20 World Cup 2026 game, which was played in Colombo on February 15, has broken all viewership records. India defeated Pakistan by 61 runs in a one-sided contest. Ishan Kishan won the Player of the Match for his 77-run knock, while Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy starred with the ball.
JioHotStar, the official digital and broadcast partner of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, claimed that the game had a historic digital reach of 163 million, the greatest for any ICC T20 World Cup event, topping even the 2024 final between India and South Africa.
The Men in Blue's electrifying performance also contributed to a 56% increase in reach over the India-Pakistan match during the 2024 edition in Melbourne. Fans logged 20 billion minutes of total viewing time across all screens, indicating high engagement.
On mobile devices, the game had the biggest match reach in the league stage of any ICC T20 event, 1.2 times that of the preceding India-Pakistan match in 2024. The game, often regarded as cricket's greatest rivalry, drew record crowds to JioHotstar. Reach on Connected TV (CTV) was 2.4 times that of the same fixture in the 2024 edition.
On linear television, the fixture delivered a 71% TVR growth, becoming the highest-rated India-Pakistan T20 contest since 2021.
“The build-up to the India vs. Pakistan game at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 and the match itself had all the ingredients of a spectacle. The record-breaking reach and consumption reflect the scale at which fans all over engage with this tournament across platforms.
This tournament has already delivered thrilling moments for fans worldwide, and the response to the India-Pakistan clash sets the tone for an exciting ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 with the best yet to come,” said Anup Govindan, Head – Sales, Sports, JioStar.
The jump coincided with India's impressive on-field performance, which increased their 8-1 head-to-head record over Pakistan in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
Siddharth Sharma, Head of Content, Sports - JioStar, said, "The unprecedented viewership and engagement numbers for India vs Pakistan are further proof of the nation’s obsession with the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Complementing the Indian Cricket Team’s stellar exploits on the field with unmatched scale and choice of unique content offerings, JioStar is giving viewers more than one reason to stay locked in as India attempts to defeat history and become the first-ever back-to-back T20 World Champions.”
India has qualified for the Super 8s stage and will face South Africa in their first game on February 22 in Ahmedabad.
(ANI inputs)
