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MUMBAI — Some estimates suggest one-sixth of humanity watched the blockbuster World Cup semifinal of India vs. Pakistan on Wednesday.
Given that India's population is about 1.21 billion, the television audience is expected to break cricket records again for Saturday's final between India and Sri Lanka.
India has waited 28 years since its last World Cup win. For that reason alone, few in this cricket-obsessed nation are likely to miss the showdown against Sri Lanka.
Newspaper and TV coverage has been full of World Cup stories. But the event isn't just causing a boom in traditional forms of media. During India vs. Pakistan, the so-called "final before the final," the game accounted for at least half of the top 10 trending topics on Twitter in India throughout the day.
It also regularly appeared among the most popular topics worldwide, eye-opening given cricket's relatively small global footprint.
India tennis star Sania Mirza and her husband, Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik, were married last year. Both added postings after the Indo-Pak match.
"Bad luck to Pakistan..fantastic win by India but job only half done..one more to go..phheww..now I can go practice in peace..GO INDIA," Mirza tweeted.
A message from her husband read: "Today the Pakistani cricket team has given the whole Pakistan a lot to cheer and smile about..we are proud of you boys..."
Nearly 24 hours after the match, it was still the top trending topic in India. Countless more social media users were posting messages on Facebook, where an India Cricket page received more than 1,000 comments during the game.
"This time world cup is ours...." wrote one fan, while another simply put: "World Cup belongs to India."
Marketing specialists have pounced on the opportunity to promote their brands across all forms of media, using cricket's immense popularity in India.
Nike's "Bleed Blue" campaign, for example, is ubiquitous. It adorns posters across India, is shown regularly during the countless advertising breaks during games and has more than a million "likes" on Facebook. Pepsi's "Change The Game" effort boasts similar figures.
People are soaking up the World Cup — and the Indian cricket team — in whatever form possible.
India's cricket hero Sachin Tendulkar endorses 16 different brands. Rarely an advertising break goes by without the world's greatest batsman popping up on the TV screen.
It's a sign of India's status in the cricket world, with the value of its television rights alone giving it huge clout on the international stage.
