As 2024’s sports calendar unfolded, fans flocked to digital platforms to catch live action from across the globe. While many major sporting events grabbed attention this year, cricket’s flagship tournament, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, truly stood out—not only for the thrilling moments on the field but also for its record-breaking digital engagement. According to a recent report by ExpressVPN, the T20 World Cup became one of the most-streamed events of the year, highlighting cricket’s growing presence in the digital streaming landscape. Here’s a deep dive into how the T20 World Cup, became one of the biggest stories in sports streaming in 2024.

The T20 World Cup’s Global Appeal

From June 4 to June 30, cricket took center stage in a unique edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States and the West Indies. The tournament not only showcased cricket in new regions but also introduced the game to a broader, untapped audience, with the U.S. serving as a fresh stage for international cricket. The result? A remarkable 2.6 billion viewers worldwide, making this year’s World Cup a milestone for the sport.

The T20 World Cup’s combination of traditional cricket nations—India, Pakistan, Australia—and new host countries helped fuel its popularity across diverse audiences. In addition to the breathtaking action, cricket fans in countries like South Africa, the UK, and Canada joined the digital wave, setting the stage for a streaming revolution.

Digital Engagement: A Record-Breaking Leap

It wasn’t just the number of viewers that stood out in 2024. Digital engagement reached new heights, with a stunning 16.9 billion video viewsâ€?58% more than the previous edition in 2022. This leap underscores how much the sport has evolved in terms of reach, with fans increasingly turning to online platforms for their cricket fix.

The tournament reached unprecedented streaming numbers, particularly during key moments like the final clash between India and South Africa. Disney+ Hotstar, one of the leading platforms for cricket streaming in India and beyond, recorded a peak concurrent viewership of nearly 53 million. This moment alone cemented the T20 World Cup’s place in the annals of cricket streaming history, further solidifying the growing shift towards digital-first sports consumption.

The Streaming Revolution: Cricket’s New Era

In 2024, the T20 World Cup was not just about live games but?? about the complete digital experience. Highlights, analysis, interactive content, and behind-the-scenes access contributed to a holistic fan experience. Platforms like Disney+ Hotstar, ESPN+, and Willow TV capitalized on t??he demand for content by offering exclusive streaming features and even multi-angle viewing, giving fans more control over how they consumed the game.

What’s also interesting is how cricket streaming is growing in markets traditionally less associated with the sport. For example, in the United States, where the sport is still in its nascent stages of growth, the T20 World Cup piqued the interest of curious viewers, thanks to its digital-first approach. This is a significant step forward, with streaming playing a key role in cricket’s future expansion in non-traditional markets.

Cricket’s Competition: How Other Sports Fared

While cricket enjoyed its moment in the sun, other major ?sports events also commanded significant streaming numbers in 2024. From the Olympic Games to the UEFA Champions League, the streaming landscape was crowded. However, what set cricket apart was its ability to fuse traditional sporting fervor with modern technology, creating an immersive, highly engaging experience for f?ans.

Conclusion:

As we reflect on 2024, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will be remembered not only for the incredible cricket played on the field but for how it reshaped the way we consume sports content. The tournament’s streaming success—marked by record-breaking viewership and unprecedented engagement—signals a new era for cricket, where the digital realm plays an increasingly pivotal role in connecting fans to the sport.

With more tournaments, leagues, and international matches moving to digital-first platforms, it’s clear that cricket’s global reach will only continue to expand in the years to come. For cricket fans, this is just the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the sport’s history. All of this insight is based on the detailed findings from ExpressVPN, which analyzed streaming data from across the world to highlight these significant trends.

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India‘s dream of ending an ICC trophy drought suffered a massive setback on Sunday (June 11) at the Oval as Australia clinched their first World Test Championship (WTC) trophy by defeating Rohit Sharma and Co. by 209 runs. And with this, India’s dismal run continues in the ICC events.

The last time India successfully conquered the global cricketing tournament was in 2013 when the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Men in Blue defeated the strong England side in the Champions Trophy Final. Before that, India established their supremacy over the cricketing world as a superpower after clinching the 2011 ODI World Cup and 2007 T20 World Cup. They mana??ged t?o win all the cricketing trophies across formats within six years.

Since then, India have failed to showcase their robustness in the knockout stages of the ICC tournaments. Despite the continuous changes in the captaincy, India haven’t been able to provide positive results in the international events. India have played eight knockout matches after the 2013 Champions Trophy title trumph, and lost all eight.

The trend clearly suggests that while India have played good cricket and piped other strong ?nations to book their spot for the knockout stages, they failed to provide the final pun??ch either at the semis or in the final.

Be it the heart-breaking loss at the hands of Sri Lanka in the final of the ICC T20 World Cup in 2014 or the gut-wrenching loss in the semi-finals of the ICC ODI World Cup 2019 against New Zealand, India haven’t been able to get their bearings right in international events.

In the 2014 T20 World Cup final against Sri Lanka at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, India suffered a six-wicket defeat despite cruising to the finals undefe?ated.

In the next year’s ODI World Cup 2015 in Australia, India couldn’t pass the host in the semi-final and were crashed out of the tournament.

The 2016 T20 World Cup was played under the leadership of the new captain, Virat Kohli. He was the man of the tournament and played a blinder of a knock against West Indies in the semis. But it was not enough against a star-studded West Indies line-up, who went on to ?become the Cham??pions.

The 2017 Champions Trophy final was the summit clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan. After their victory over Pakistan in the league stage, India was considered favourites. But Fakhar Zaman played a matc??h winning knock and dismantled the hope of Indian fans.

India waited another two years for the next ICC tournament. The 2019 ICC World Cup was held in England, and the format was 50 overs. However, the result wasn’t fruitful as top order yet again failed in the semi-final against New Zealand.

The next knockout defeat once again came against the Blackcaps, but this time in the longest format. The WTC was introduced by the ICC to promote Test cricket, and in the end, it was India and New Zealand who could reach the summit clash of 2021. After two years of hard ?work, India slipped again when it mattered the most and lost to the Kiwis in Southampton.

The 2021 T20 World Cup held in United Arab Emirates (UAE) proved disastrous as Team India suffered a group-stage exit after facing? defeats at the hands of Pakistan and New Zealand in the first two matches.

The 2022 T20 World Cup took place in Australia. India played some EXCEPTIONAL cricket in the league stage, including the famous victory over Pakistan on the back of Kohli’s epic knock. But England put a halt on India’s march and eventually became title holder after defeating Pakistan in the final.

India’s latest suffering came against Australia when they couldn’t chase down the 444-run target in the final of the second edition of WTC.

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??One of the most inconsistent sides in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Kings XI? Punjab (KXIP), have failed to secure a title win since its inception in 2008.

In fact, KXIP, Delhi Capitals (DC), ?and? Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) , are the only three teams who are yet open their account in the tally of IPL titles, amongst active teams.

Very seldom has the team even qualified for the playoffs. One of?? the backbones through which the team was built was local-boy Yuvraj Singh.

After featuring in alm??o?st all franchises during his glittering IPL career, Yuvi spilled beans about his experience in the KXIP camp.

“I wanted to run away from Kings XI Punjab �the management didn’t like me there �they did nothing I asked them to do �and when I left they bought all the players I had been asking them to. I love Punjab but I did not like the running of the franchise,�said the ?recently-retired cricketer.

Yuvraj was the marquee player for KXIP in the first three edition?s of the tournament, only to be released later.

After featuring for Pune Warriors India (PWI), ??Delhi Daredevils (DD), RCB, and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Yuvraj made his way back to the Mohali-based franchise in 2018, only to be released in the subsequent season.

Looking back at his career, Yuvi took full responsibility for the Indian loss in the 2014 T20 World Cup. The Punjab swashbuckler could not find the middle of the bat in the finals against Sri Lanka, where he scored 11 off 21 deliveries at the death, keeping in-form Virat Kohli at the non-strikers�end.

“I take full responsibility for that final loss. I couldn’t hit the ball. But then the Lankans bowled very well. Even the other ??batsmen struggled but fans and media made me the villain. There were stones thrown on my house in Chandigarh. When I came home, I saw?? my India cap and the bat I hit 6 sixes with and realised my time is done,�Yuvraj concluded.

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