Picture Credit: IPL/BCCI
There are IPL games and then there are Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians games. The rivalry between two of the most successful teams in the tournament is perhaps bigger than any other and grows in reputation season after season. Often both the teams give their best in this match which makes for a thrilling view for the spectators. Such is the intensity and competitiveness in these encounters that their face-off is touted as the El Clasico of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
In another testimony to the massive following that especially this game receives, the CSK vs MI match of IPL 2021 which happened at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Saturday, May 1 has become the most-watched mid-season game ever. The same has been confirmed by a source close to the broadcasters.
11.2 billion minutes of viewing time
A report carried by the Times of India has quoted the Disney Star source confirming that the match received an unprecedented 11.2 billion minutes of viewing time, the highest a mid-season game has received in Broadcast Audience Research Council's (BARC) history. Notably, the match went down to the wire and was decided on the last ball. While Chennai Super Kings had posted 218/4 batting first, Mumbai Indians were in a spot of bother at one stage with the match appearing to go Chennai's way. But Kieron Pollard produced arguably one of his best T20 innings to help his team win a last-ball thriller.