ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026: India vs Pakistan Clash Shatters Digital Records

Following Bangladesh's exit, the Pakistani government had threatened to boycott the Indian match in the T20 World Cup 2026. This had resulted in weeks of drama. Despite the threat of sanctions from the ICC, the Pakistani government was adamant about not changing its decision for a few days. An emergency meeting was held in Lahore, in which Bangladesh, along with other countries, had urged the boycott of the match. It was only after this that the Pakistani government had changed its decision, resulting in the match being played in Colombo. Perhaps because of the drama of the boycott, this epic match has shattered all previous viewer records.

According to JioStar, the official broadcast and digital partner in India, the India vs. Pakistan match recorded a digital reach of 163 million (163 million) on JioHotstar, a record never-before-seen. This is the highest match reach for any ICC T20 event. It even surpassed the digital viewership of the 2024 T20 World Cup final between India and South Africa.

According to the report, reach increased by 56 percent compared to the India-Pakistan match in the 2024 edition. On mobile alone, it became the highest league-stage reach for any ICC T20 event, 1.2 times higher than the previous India-Pakistan match. Reach on connected TV (CTV) was 2.4 times higher than the 2024 match.

Furthermore, the watch time of the India vs. Pakistan match in the T20 World Cup 2026 has also astonished many. The match recorded a total of 20 billion minutes of screen time, a 42 percent increase over the previous edition's match. It is believed that if India and Pakistan meet in the final, these records could also be broken.