IPL 2018: CSK vs SRH smashes Hotstar’s viewership record

The 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) recently came to a close yesterday with the contest between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. CSK won the match by a comprehensive margin of eight wickets and also equalled the Mumbai Indians (MI) as the team with the most number of title victories.

The tournament commenced with a humdinger between Mumbai and Chennai at the same venue and was a witness to some spectacular cricket by the eight franchises. The viewership surrounding the tournament also escalated as the event progressed. Hotstar broadcasted the matches for online viewers and the numbers were significant throughout the entire event.

However, in yesterday’s match, the viewership breached the 10 million mark for the first time. Quite expectantly, the CEO of the company was elated by the achievement. “This a new global record. Bigger than Felix Baumgartner’s Supersonic Freefall on youtube,” Ajit Mohan, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hotstar was quoted as saying by Insidesport.

Previously, the Qualifier 1 between the same opponents generated 8.5 million viewers on the online streaming platform. Chennai’s clash with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Chepauk earlier in the tournament generated 5.5 million audiences, which was then a world record in sports. The company also overhauled the INR 100 crore barrier for the subscription revenue.

A match worth watching

The Finale turned out to be one-sided in the end, however, it wasn’t short of excitement. SRH racked up 178 runs, which isn’t a meagre total by any stretch of the imagination. Kane Williamson, Yusuf Pathan and some late strikes from Carlos Braithwaite ensured that the Orange Army reach a formidable total on the board for CSK to chase down.

Chennai started steadily and didn’t blaze away. Shane Watson took 11 deliveries to get off the mark. Nevertheless, both Watson and Chennai gained momentum and took the bowlers to the cleaners. In the last seven overs, CSK needed 48 runs, which turned out to be a doddle. Watson scored a masterful hand of 117 runs from 57 balls and also became the second batsmen with a ton in an IPL final.

Here is MS Dhoni’s journey

Stay updated on every ‘cricket news‘ and developments with CricTracker.com.