Top 5 Most Viewed Cricket Matches in History

In 2011, cricket fans everywhere focused on the ICC World Cup final. India faced Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Sri Lanka set a challenging target of 274 runs, thanks to Mahela Jayawardene’s impressive century. India needed a strong reply to end a 28-year wait for the World Cup title.

MS Dhoni led the Indian team with a calm and powerful innings of 91 not out. Gautam Gambhir supported well, scoring 97 runs. Together, they helped India chase down the target and win the World Cup. The match attracted about 558 million viewers globally.

The 2011 World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan was one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament. Played at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali, it drew huge attention from fans worldwide.

India posted a total of 260 runs, largely thanks to Sachin Tendulkar’s steady 85 runs. Other Indian batsmen could not build big scores, but Tendulkar’s innings gave the team a strong base. The Indian bowlers then took control, restricting Pakistan to just 231 runs and securing a place in the final.

This thrilling contest attracted around 495 million viewers globally, and showed the intense rivalry and passion for cricket between the two nations.

The 2017 ICC Champions Trophy final took place at The Oval in London on June 18, 2017. Pakistan, the underdogs and lowest-ranked team in the tournament, defeated the defending champions India by a huge margin of 180 runs. This was Pakistan’s first ICC ODI tournament win since the 1992 World Cup.

Fakhar Zaman starred with a century, scoring 114 runs and earning the Man of the Match award. India’s Shikhar Dhawan was the top scorer of the tournament, winning the Golden Bat with 338 runs, while Pakistan’s Hasan Ali took 13 wickets and received both the Golden Ball and Man of the Series awards.

This final attracted around 400 million viewers globally, ranking it among the most watched cricket matches ever.

The group stage match at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on June 4, 2017, saw India dominate Pakistan with a strong batting display. Four Indian players — Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Yuvraj Singh — each scored fifty or more, and help India reach over 300 runs.

Pakistan struggled to keep up and were bowled out for less than 170 runs, resulting in a heavy defeat by 124 runs using the DLS method.

This match attracted about 324 million viewers worldwide, and showed the high interest in India-Pakistan clashes.

On February 15, 2015, at Adelaide Oval, Australia, India and Pakistan met in another high-stakes match. India batted first after winning the toss. Shikhar Dhawan scored 73 runs, and Virat Kohli made a century, and helped India reach 300 runs. Suresh Raina added 74 runs to strengthen the total.

Pakistan’s chase struggled despite a strong effort by captain Misbah-ul-Haq, who scored 76. The rest of the batting lineup could not support him, and Pakistan was all out for 224 runs. Indian bowler Mohammed Shami took 4 wickets for 35 runs.

This match drew about 313 million viewers, and highlighted the strong interest in India-Pakistan cricket matches.