Net Attraction: 53 million viewers live streamed India vs South Africa T20 World Cup final

Mumbai, July 1 (IANS) The nation was glued to the screens as Team India took on South Africa in the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 at Barbados. 

Given the match ended India’s drought of an ICC trophy for 11 years, the match registered a staggering concurrent viewership with 5.3 crore people watching the thrilling game.

The viewership marks the highest ever in the history of the game since the introduction of OTT. The thrilling contest kept the viewers hooked as the match could have gone either way looking at the performances of both the teams.

Commenting on the milestone, Sajith Sivanandan, Head, Disney+ Hotstar India said: “Congratulations to both teams for their outstanding performances during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. Team India has brought joy and pride to millions, with their incredible skill and dedication. We are proud to have brought those moments to their homes and their hands.”

Tema India won the toss and decided to bat as they posted 176 runs on the scoreboard. While skipper Rohit Sharma, who had been in amazing form throughout the tournament, got out early after scoring 9 runs.

It was Virat Kohli, who stood up on the occasion as 76 out of India’s score of 176 came from Kohli's bat as he played a brilliant knock handling India’s momentum on the pitch with his experience. He clinched the Player of the Match trophy for his performance in the finals.

Axar Patel and Shivam Dube also provided much-needed strength to the batting line-up. However, the game changed with the bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, and the match-winning catch by Suryakumar Yadav at the boundary.

Sajith further mentioned: “With a staggering 5.3 cr concurrent viewers tuning in on Disney+ Hotstar for the finals, the highest peak concurrency recorded for this tournament, the support of Indian cricket fans has lifted us to new heights in live sports streaming. It has been a real privilege matching their unwavering passion and support with our innovation.”

The concurrent viewing means the number of simultaneous viewers across the social media platform and TV while the live peak concurrency is the highest number of live viewers watching concurrently at any point during the match.

However, the victory in the finals came with a bitter-sweet feeling as three pillars of team India, Captain Rohit Sharma, smasher Virat Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirements from the T20 format, leaving the room for a new generation of cricketers who would shoulder the expectation of 1.4 billion people of India.

--IANS

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