More than 46 million people interacted on Facebook during ICC World T20

More than 46 million people interacted on Facebook during this year’s ICC World Twenty 20, which culminated in thrilling victories by both the West Indies Men and Women’s teams on April 3rd in Kolkata. From March 8th to April 3rd, 16 men’s and 10 women’s cricket teams faced each other in the most exciting T20 tournament to date.

A number of matches and moments also drove high levels of conversation on Facebook. During the India vs. Pakistan match on March 19, over 8.2 million people turned to Facebook and the final match between England and West Indies saw 6.1 million people engage on the platform. The ICC and team Facebook Pages totaled over 180 million video views during the same period (March 8 to April 3).

Most Mentioned Players on Facebook

Men

1. Virat Kohli(India)
2. MS Dhoni(India)
3. Shahid Afridi(Pakistan)
4. Chris Gayle (West Indies)
5. Rohit Sharma (India)
6. Hardik Pandya(India)
7. Yuvraj Singh (India)
8. Umar Akmal (Pakistan)
9. Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh)
10. Joe Root(England)

Women

1. Sana Mir(Pakistan)
2. Jahanara Alam (Bangladesh)
3. Stafanie Taylor (West Indies)
4. Mithali Raj (India)
5. Meg Lanning (Australia)

Team Frames

During the tournament, profile frames were used over 17 million times by people showing their support for ICC World Twenty20 teams on Facebook. This included players and cricket fans from around the world, as well as celebrities and public figures.

LIVE from the ICC World Twenty 20

The ICC, multiple cricket boards, players, publishers and celebrities created over 500 live videos for cricket fans on Facebook. Over 60 official press conferences were streamed directly onto the ICC Facebook Page immediately following the conclusion of both men’s and women’s matches. Hundreds of thousands of fans tuned into Facebook Live to watch their favorite players field media questions and millions more watched the videos on Facebook in the hours and days after each match.

Teams and players from India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Afghanistan, the West Indies and Bangladesh all used Facebook Live to share their WT20 journey with fans.

Over 20 publishers and personalities used Facebook Live over 400 times throughout the event to provide exclusive match commentary and analysis as well as engage and entertain fans:

News publishers: Aaj Tak, ABP News, Hindustan Times, Indian Express, IBN Live, India Today, Quint, FirstPost
Sports publishers: cricbuzz, Cricket Tracker, Sportskeeda, CricketCountry.com, Cricketnext,ESPN Cricinfo, Sky Sports

Personalities: Aakash Chopra, Cricketwallah, Anil Kumble, Kunal Kapur, Bollywood Gandu, Vikram Sathaye
Lifestyle: Being Indian, Dice Media, Indian Ocean, TVF Qtiyapa

Getting Closer to the Action

The ICC ensured that fans were never too far from the event by sharing key match moments such as the final ball of the India versus Bangladesh match and immediate player reactions, such as Chris Jordan’s pitch side interview following his team’s qualification to the Finals.

Players and teams took to Instagram and Facebook share their excitement and experience with fans:

1. West Indies team dances their way into their hotel following the Semi Finals in Mumbai.

• England’s Ben Stoke, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid run practice drills in their hotel with the help of an apple.
• Pakistan Women’s Captain Sana Mir and team share a special thank you message with their parentsafter their victory over Indies.

• DJ Bravo launches his ‘anthem’ Champion on Facebook Live.

• Australia Captain Steve Smith congratulates Shane Watsonon his career following his retirement from International cricket.
• Yuvraj Singh wishes his fans Happy Holion Instagram.

Happy holi everyone! Spread the love with the colours of joy ☝?️?

A photo posted by Yuvraj Singh (@yuvisofficial) on Mar 23, 2016 at 10:47pm PDT

Celebrities, sports teams, journalists, politicians and more from around the world took to Facebook and Instagram to post about the #WT20.

1. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates Indian captain MS Dhoni and Virat Kolhi following their victory over Australia in Mohali.

• Australian Prime MinisterMalcolm Turnbull showed his support for the Southern Stars by adding a profile frame and also wished the team good luck on the eve of the Finals.
• Chelsea FC wishes India Vice Captain Virat Kolhi good luckfor his semi final match.
• Shah Rukh Khan showed his support for Team India and added a profile frame before the India versus Pakistan matchand also posted a fun good luck message for the Indian Cricket Team during the Super 10 stage.

• Amitabh Bachchan’s congratulatory message to the West India Team.

• Sachin Tendulkar’s heartfelt thank you to the crowd in Kolkata at the India versus Pakistan match.

• Usain Bolt’s Champion celebrationfor the West Indies’ victory.

@GabeTurner73 wasn't ready for that last over. WI is a champion. Well done team it just keep happening in the Caribbean. #winning #greatest #smiling ???

A video posted by Usain St.Leo Bolt (@usainbolt) on Apr 3, 2016 at 10:18am PDT

• Mohammed Nabi and the Afghanistan team receive a special phone call from President Ashraf Ghani following their amazing run in the tournament.

The ICC WT20: Were You Watching?

Cricket fans the world over joined the conversation on Facebook through dedicated prompts and messages. People were able to see posts from their friends and people they follow, follow match scores, and view realtime reactions, photos and videos from news outlets, public figures and people around the world through an enhanced trending experience.

Celebrating with Stickers

In celebration of cricket, Facebook launched the Cricket Match-up sticker pack. During the tournament, over 13.9 million fans downloaded the sticker pack and used them to express themselves before, during and after matches.

The date gives good insights in terms of audience behavior during such events. Planning your next cricket campaign, already?