The highly anticipated India vs Pakistan encounter in the Champions Trophy 2025 has set new television viewership records, reaffirming its status as one of cricket’s biggest rivalries. The match, played on February 23 in Dubai, was watched by an unprecedented 20.6 crore viewers on TV, making it the second most-watched cricket match in Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) history, excluding World Cup matches.
The latest chapter of this historic rivalry outperformed the previous 50-over India vs Pakistan clash in the Cricket World Cup 2023. The Television Rating (TVR) for the Champions Trophy match was approximately 11 percent higher than the corresponding fixture in Ahmedabad during the ODI World Cup, JioHotstar, the official broadcasters, said.
The contest, which saw Virat Kohli become the fastest player to reach 14,000 ODI runs, also registered a staggering 2,609 crore minutes of total TV watch time.
Virat Kohli stole the limelight in a big game once again, scoring his 51st one-day international hundred. The chase master led from the front as India successfully chased down 242 in just 42.3 overs.
India defeated Pakistan by six wickets, further cementing their dominant status in the rivalry with their neighbours.
While India are gearing up to play the final of the Champions Trophy 2025 against New Zealand, Pakistan crashed out without winning a game from a tournament they hosted.
