Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 sets new records with historic opening weekend
With the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 currently underway, the first weekend of the tournament broke several viewership records.
On the first three days of competition, 44,844 people marked their presence in the stands at Birmingham, Manchester, and Southampton, creating yet another record in women’s cricket. This number has overcomed the 34,680 people who attended the inaugural weekend of the previous edition of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
The contest between arch-rival India and Pakistan at Edgbaston being the high-voltage match of the weekend witnessed a sold-out audience of 18,814 people. The match scripted history for being the most attended group-stage game ever in the history of ICC Women’s World Cup. The India-Pakistan clash at the 2024 T20 World Cup in Dubai held the previous record with 15,935 spectators.
As the official streaming partner, JioHotstar attracted 215 million people, resulting in 1.3 billion minutes of live watch time over the inaugural weekend. The India-Pakistan match alone attracted 134 million viewers and 1.1 billion watch minutes, the highest-ever for a league-stage match in any format of women’s cricket.
Additionally, as the sport’s direct-to-consumer channel, the ICC.tv witnessed a 75% surge in unique users and view time, while the partnership resulted in more than 150,000 hours of aggregate watch time during the record-breaking opening weekend.
Sportscape views this record-breaking start as the rising popularity of women’s cricket especially in India visible through massive participation in stadiums as well as on digital platforms. If the momentum continues, women’s cricket can witness bigger investments and opportunitites.
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