Amid chatter that India’s clash with Pakistan lacked rivalry given the one-sided nature of recent history, the match reached new highs and broke viewership records. The contest saw an unprecedented digital reach of 163 million viewers on JioHotstar – the highest of any ICC T20 event, surpassing even the 2024 T20 World Cup final between India and South Africa.
The historical figures prove cricket is ‘greatest rivalry’ despite this, it remains undiminished Indian record at 8:1 in T20 World Cup matches. The significance of the match was heightened by the pre-tournament controversy, when the Pakistani government initially said the team would not take the field against India in Colombo, only to reverse the boycott decision after talks with Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi, Bangladeshi counterpart Aminul Islam and ICC vice-chairman Imran Khwaja in Lahore.
RECORD DIGITAL PERFORMANCE
JioStar, the official digital and broadcast partner of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, today announced that the match has crossed several milestones. The match saw a 56% increase in digital reach compared to the 2024 India-Pakistan match, with fan engagement soaring across all platforms after the boycott threat was resolved.
On mobile, the game had the highest reach in the league phase of any ICC T20 event, drawing 1.2 times more viewers than last year’s India-Pakistan clash. Connected TV viewership exploded to 2.4 times that of the 2024 edition as fans thronged JioHotstar to witness the much-anticipated contest that almost didn’t happen.
GREAT ENGAGEMENT ACROSS PLATFORMS
The match generated a staggering 20 billion minutes of total viewing time across all screens, a 42% increase in consumption over the previous edition. India’s rousing performance led to sustained audience engagement throughout the competition as the team extended its World Cup dominance over its arch-rivals.
Linear TV delivered equally stellar results with a 71% increase in TVR (television ratings), making it the highest-rated India-Pakistan T20 competition since 2021. The record engagement highlighted the enduring power of traditional broadcasting in delivering massive, collective viewership experiences.
With the associated nations competing hard and putting on a show in this edition, the cumulative reach of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the end of the group stage is already better than the entire last edition in digital form.
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Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
February 20, 2026