The most fierce and high-octane rivalry in the world cricket between Indian and Pakistan has created a new record as they gathered a viewership of 167 million when they both played against each other on 24th October.
The Men in Blue played against Pakistan in their opening match of the ongoing T20 World Cup, where Pakistan secured an easy win by 10 wickets, which is their first win against India in World Cups.
However, besides this, the fixture has emerged as the most viewed T20 match in the history of the format, according to the official broadcaster of the event.
Star India revealed in a release that India vs Pakistan has gathered a total of 167 million viewers, which is a record till now. The earlier record for the most viewed T20 match was made in 2016 when India played against West Indies in the T20 World Cup semi-final. The knockout fixture gathered a total of 136 viewers to the screen.
Speaking about the record viewership a Star India spokesperson said, “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,”
“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.”
“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.
India has been eliminated from the T20 World Cup after failing to qualify for the semi-finals of the competition. However, Pakistan has progressed through to the semi-final, and will now play against Australia on 11th November to take their journey to the finals.