Pakistan and India once again made a solid case for more bilateral series after breaking numerous viewership records at the ongoing Asia Cup.
Both countries gave the audiences two best nail-biting contests of this year’s Asia Cup with India winning the opener before Pakistan evened the playing field in the next contest during the Super 4’s stage.
The importance of the contests was also reflected in the record number of people who tuned in to watch the two spectacles. According to reports, 225 million people watched the first match between the two sides split between 200 million on TV and 25 million on Over-the-Top services.
The figures were even better for the latest contest at the Dubai International Stadium, with a mindboggling 230 million people tuning in to watch the Asian heavyweights go toe-to-toe.
All the viewership was in addition to the fact that all the tickets for the two matches sold out within minutes of being made available.
Pakistan vs India contests are no strangers to breaking viewership records given the historic cricketing rivalry between the two sides.
The 2011 World Cup semi-final between them remains the second-most watched cricket game in history, with 495 million viewers. The 2017 Champions Trophy final was watched by around 400 million while the group game of the same tournament was viewed by 324 million people and about 313 million watched the two sides play in the 2015 World Cup.
Despite the potential of the fixture, there are no scheduled bilateral series between the two countries during the next ICC Future Tour Programme (FTP) denying the fans once again.
If all things pan out, Pakistan and India could square off for a third time in the Asia Cup final which is sure to break record numbers again.
