Delhi, 17 October (H.S.): The Women’s ODI World Cup encounter between India and Pakistan on October 5 has shattered all previous viewership records, establishing itself as the most-watched international match in the history of women’s cricket.According to the International Cricket Council (ICC), the match achieved a monumental digital reach of 28.4 million and accumulated 1.87 billion viewing minutes.
In a statement released on Thursday, the ICC confirmed that the clash was the tournament’s biggest match in terms of viewership. The initial phase of the league stage has also witnessed a record-breaking surge in audience numbers.On television, the India-Pakistan fixture became the highest-rated league match in World Cup history.
The first 11 matches of the tournament reached a total of 72 million viewers, marking a 166% increase compared to the previous edition. Viewing minutes saw an even more dramatic rise of 327%, reaching 6.3 billion minutes.Stadium attendance has also been highly encouraging, with large crowds turning up for matches featuring the home teams in India and Sri Lanka.
However, attendance for matches involving other teams has been comparatively lower, typically in the thousands when neither India nor Sri Lanka are playing in Colombo, with weather also impacting crowd numbers.Combined data from the ICC and JioHotstar reveals that over 60 million viewers tuned in for the first 13 matches, a five-fold increase from the 2022 edition.
The total watch time soared to 7 billion minutes, which is 12 times higher than the last tournament. Furthermore, the India vs. Australia match on October 12 set another benchmark with a peak concurrent viewership of 4.8 million, a new record for women’s cricket.
Record-Breaking Numbers at a Glance
India-Pakistan Match Reach: 28.4 million
India-Pakistan Viewing Time: 1.87 billion minutes
Total Reach (First 11 Matches): 72 millionTotal Viewing Time: 6.3 billion minutes
Peak Viewership (India vs. Australia): 4.8 million
This remarkable achievement underscores the rapidly growing popularity and increasing spectator engagement in women’s cricket.
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
