The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 final which was played between Gujarat Titans (GT) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) on May 29, 2022, has become the most attended game of cricket in the history of the sport.
The world’s largest cricket stadium, Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, was filled with 1,04,859 fans who experienced a sparkling closing ceremony before the final battle began. The recently rebranded stadium has a seating capacity of 130,000 people.
The stadium also saw 85,000 fans watching the match from the stands during Qualifier 2 between the Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), but for the final frontier of the season, the numbers only increased.
After opening in 2020 to a packed mega rally of the former US President Donald Trump, the Ahmedabad stadium has been operating at half capacity or empty during the coronavirus pandemic. Nevertheless, fans flocked to the title-deciding match to support Gujarat, led by the star Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
Previously, the most-watched cricket match was between India and Pakistan in 1998-99, when 1,00,000 fans packed the famous Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata, followed by the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which witnessed an attendance of 91,112 on Day 1 of Australia vs England 2013-14.
Coming back to the IPL 2022 final, the game was won by the debutants GT by seven wickets.
Pandya was named Man of the Match for his outstanding all-around performance. GT played their first game at their home ground, and it turned out to be a memorable one.