IPL opener between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings breaks viewership records

New Delhi: The opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings set a new viewership world record in the sporting field. The MI vs CSK game saw an unprecedented 20 crore people tuning into their television sets to watch the two IPL heavyweights face off, making it the most watched opening game of any sports league across the globe.

CSK had managed to defeat Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener on September 19.

BCCI’s secretary Jay Shah took to Twitter to announce the feat. “Opening match of #Dream11IPL sets a new record! As per BARC, an unprecedented 20crore people tuned in to watch the match. Highest ever opening day viewership for any sporting league in any country- no league has ever opened as big as this,” he wrote on Twitter.

Total viewership on @StarSportsIndia and @DisneyPlusHS.@starindia @ThakurArunS @BCCI

— Jay Shah (@JayShah) September 22, 2020

The Indian audience, deprived of any live sporting action, involving their local stars, for over six months, was waiting for the tournament to begin with bated breath.

CSK skipper MS Dhoni announced his return to cricket by recording 100 wins for his franchise on Saturday. CSK defeated Mumbai Indians by five wickets in the opening match of the IPL 2020.

With this, Dhoni became the first skipper in IPL to record 100 wins as the leader of a franchise. CSK had been on a five-match losing streak against Mumbai, but after winning the match on Saturday, the Dhoni-led franchise finally gained a victory over the Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians.

Dhoni returned to the cricket field after 437 days as he last played a match during the 2019 World Cup. He had last played against New Zealand in the semi-finals of the 50-over tournament in July last year.

The former India skipper had announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15 this year.