Sentinel Digital Desk
Sunday's blockbuster match between India and Pakistan in Dubai broke records, with JioHotstar reporting a viewership of 60.2 crore for the fifth game of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy.
The pinnacle of concurrency was reached when Virat Kohli hit the winning boundary to not only seal India's six-wicket victory over their archrivals, but also complete his 51st ODI century.
Excitement grew as Kohli approached his second international century in over a year, keeping viewers glued to their smartphones, personal computers, and television sets, whatever device they watched the game on.
JioHotstar had 6.8 crore viewers when pacer Mohammed Shami bowled the first over of the match after Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan decided to bat.
During the innings break, after Pakistan was bowled out for 241, viewership soared to 32.2 crore. As Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill started India's chase, numbers kept climbing, surpassing 50 crore when Kohli dominated the middle overs.
The previous record for peak concurrency was 3.5 crore during the 2023 World Cup. This match’s peak concurrency was 17 times higher!
The match was watched live by 225 million people on the former digital platform, as well as 173 million on the Disney-Star Network and Doordarshan on television.