MUMBAI: The India–Pakistan group-stage clash at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 has rewritten viewership records, becoming the most-watched ICC T20 match in digital history.
Broadcast and streamed by JioStar on JioHotstar, the match drew a digital reach of 163 million, surpassing even the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 final. Digital reach rose 56 per cent compared with the previous India–Pakistan encounter at the 2024 edition.
On mobile devices, the fixture recorded the highest league-stage reach of any ICC T20 event, clocking 1.2 times the audience of the last India–Pakistan clash. Connected TV viewership surged even more sharply, delivering a reach 2.4 times higher than the same fixture in 2024.
Across platforms, the match generated more than 20 billion minutes of watch time, a 42 per cent jump over the previous edition. India’s emphatic win, which extended its head-to-head record against Pakistan at T20 World Cups to 8–1, helped sustain viewing through the contest.
Linear television also delivered. The broadcast registered a 71 per cent rise in ratings, making it the highest-rated India–Pakistan T20 match since 2021 and underlining the continued pull of appointment viewing for marquee sporting events.
With associate nations adding competitive edge, cumulative digital reach for the tournament has already overtaken that of the entire 2024 edition at the same stage. India, meanwhile, has secured qualification for the Super 8s beginning 21 February, as the defending champions push for a second consecutive T20 title.
JioStar head of sales for sports Anup Govindan, said the scale of engagement reflected the unmatched pull of the India–Pakistan rivalry across platforms. JioStar head of sports content Siddharth Sharma, added that the numbers underscored India’s deep-rooted obsession with the T20 World Cup and the appetite for immersive, multi-format coverage.
