5 international cricket matches with the highest viewership

Cricket remains one of the most popular sports around the world, with approximately 2.5 billion fans all across the world. A major chunk of cricket fanatics remain in India, with the world’s most populous country attracting the most cricket viewers.

The 2019 Men’s Cricket World Cup in India was among the most-watched sporting events across the world. The list is however, topped by some of the other major sporting events, including the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Being the second-most viewed sport in the world behind football, cricket is predominant in much of South Asia, United Kingdom and Australia.

Meanwhile, matchups between India and its neighbor Pakistan, remains among the most-watched cricket matches across the globe. It averages around 328.6 million worldwide viewers. The 2025 ICC Champions Trophy encounter between the two sides recently broke several viewership records on the JioHotstar platform.

The 2023 World Cup was the most-watched cricket tournament ever. And by a distance, with 1,250,307 coming through the turnstiles over the six weeks. The concurrent viewership for the final was a staggering 53 million. Now, these are great numbers that give us a lot of hope and… https://t.co/cI7KyUO4o0

— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) November 22, 2023

Here is a list of the top five most watched international cricket matches based on total reported global viewership. Interestingly, the Indian cricket side dominate the top five most-watched cricket matches of all time.

1. 2011 ICC Men’s World Cup final (India vs. Sri Lanka)

The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup final, featuring the Indian national team taking on South-Asian rivals Sri Lanka, remains the most-watched cricket game of all time. An estimated 558 million people watched the match, that took place in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on April 2, 2011.

It was the first time that two Asian teams faced each other in the final of the premier ICC tournament. India claimed an impressive six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka. A crowd of 42,000 spectators watched Indian skipper MS Dhoni guide his side to a famous victory, as he played a brilliant innings of 91 off 79 balls until the end.

2. 2011 ICC Men’s World Cup semi-final (India vs. Pakistan)

Occupying the second spot is another match from the 2011CC World Cup, which was co-hosted by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The second semi-final encounter between India and Pakistan recorded 495 million estimated viewers, from all around the world.

Held on March 30, 2011, India won this match against their arch-rivals, at the I.S. Bindra Stadium in Mohali. The home side, electing to bat first, scored 260 runs for the loss of nine wickets. In response, Pakistan managed to score only 231 runs, as India claimed a 29 run victory over the Men in Green. Sachin Tendulkar was named Man of the Match.

3. 2017 ICC Champions Trophy final (India vs. Pakistan)

Continuing with their age-old rivalry, the final of the 2015 ICC Champions Trophy between India and Pakistan occupies third place. The match garnered an estimated 400 million viewers, and was played at The Oval in London, on 18th June, 2017.

Pakistan, having made it to their maiden Champions Trophy final, defeated reigning champions India, ro lift the trophy for the first time. The Men in Green claimed an impressive 180 run win, which was the largest margin of victory in the final of an ICC ODI tournament. Fakhar Zaman was named Man of the Match for his brilliant innings of 114 off 106 deliveries.

4. 2015 ICC Men’s World Cup group-stage (India vs. Pakistan)

Marking its presence for the third time in this list, the India-Pakistan clash at the 2015 ICC World Cup remains in fourth place. An estimated 324 million viewers were glued to their television sets, despite the match being a simple group-stage encounter.

Played at the iconic Adelaide Oval in Australia, India once again claimed a 76-run victory over their rivals. Batting first, India posted a target of 301 runs. Responding to the challenge, Pakistan managed to only score 224 runs. Virat Kohli was named the Man of the Match for his brilliant match-winning century, off 126 balls.

5. 2023 ICC Men’s World Cup final (India vs. Australia)

While the 2023 edition of the ICC Men’s World Cup broke every record of cricket viewership in India, the final also remained among the most-watched matches in history. Featuring hosts India and Australia, the match was watched by more than 300 million viewers.

Played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Australia claimed an impressive six-wicket victory to lift the World Cup title for the sixth time. The match was widely considered to be one of the biggest upsets in Cricket World Cup history. Travis Head’s 137-run knock single-handedly guided the Aussies to a win.