The historic triumph in Barbados relieved 1.4 billion Indian hearts, who were crushed in Ahmedabad on November 19, 2023. Rohit Sharma and his men created history by toppling an undefeated South African unit in the summit clash. It was undoubtedly a tournament to remember for the Men in Blue, who ended the 13-year World Cup drought in an enthralling fashion.
The win was tinged with bittersweetness as three stalwarts of the Indian team – Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja – announced their retirements from the T20 format after the win. This unexpected news added a rollercoaster element to the fans’ emotions.
Rohit Sharma overshadows Virat Kohli?
Social media platforms witnessed an explosion of conversations about the Indian team throughout the tournament. In a surprising turn of events, Rohit Sharma, not Virat Kohli, dominated social media discussions during the finals.
Fans were particularly touched by Rohit’s celebratory moments – his emotional embrace with match-winner Hardik Pandya and his act of lifting the entire team’s spirits. This resonated deeply with fans on social media, earning him a staggering 70,222,648 earned engagements, the highest amongst all players, according to Sprinklr Insights. It looked like people deservingly acknowledge the leadership of Rohit, who became only the third Indian after Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni to skipper the country to a World Cup title.
This came as a bit of a shock as Kohli had been the most talked-about player during the Super Eight stages. However, Rohit’s leadership throughout the tournament, culminating in India’s World Cup victory under his captaincy, propelled him to the top.
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Kohli, despite his dominance in the earlier rounds, came in second with nearly 60 million impressions. Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, and Suryakumar Yadav followed closely as well.
Cricket fever on an all-time high
The T20 World Cup ignited a passion for cricket across India. From late May to the present day, fans have sparked over 5.7 million conversations about the sport, generating over a massive 1.29 billion online engagements. These conversations primarily took place on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Youtube, where cricket fan communities are most active. Across various social media platforms, the combined conversations generated a staggering reach exceeding 486.67 billion views.
A remarkable 89.41% of all online conversations showcased positive sentiment. Indian fans took to social media to express their excitement and national pride for the team’s victory. As the nation with the most passionate cricket fans, it’s no surprise that India also led the global conversation on social media surrounding the World Cup. This cricket-crazy nation alone generated over 1 million conversations about the tournament.
