ICC chair Jay Shah extends best wishes for India & NZ for T20 WC final
New Delhi, March 8 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) As the two cricketing giants, India and New Zealand, are set to lock horns in the T20 World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the ICC chairman Jay Shah extended his best wishes to both nations ahead of the summit clash.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 has created history, becoming the most-watched edition of the tournament in its storied history, with the viewership in India alone crossing 500 million, the highest ever for a T20 World Cup.
“It’s been a record-breaking #t20worldcup with many highlights, including some great performances from our associate members. It’s now time to wish India and New Zealand good luck in the final, which will be played in front of a huge crowd and watched by hundreds of millions,” Shah shared on X.
The ICC’s streaming service, which serves fans in growth territories, set a new concurrent streaming record during the Super 8 fixture between India and the West Indies, surpassing the previous peak achieved during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 final.
Across social media platforms, the ICC has surpassed 10 billion video views and remains on track to exceed the 16 billion video views achieved in 2024.
Moreover, the second semfinal between India and England registered a peak digital concurrency of 65.2 million viewers on JioHotstar which is the highest for any live event across the world.
On the field, the 2026 edition has delivered high-intensity contests and dramatic turnarounds. The group stage featured 20 teams divided into four groups of five, with the top two from each group progressing to the Super Eights.
Traditional heavyweights like Australia and Pakistan were tested early, while emerging sides like Zimbabwe and Nepal produced spirited performances that underlined the growing depth in global T20 cricket.
The Super Eights stage further intensified the competition. The eight qualified teams, namely India, Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa, England, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and Pakistan, were split into two groups of four, with only the top two from each group advancing to the semi-finals. Several matches went down to the wire, and net run rate proved decisive in shaping the final standings.
