#IPL2018: Facebook records 425 mn posts, comments, and reactions

The eleventh edition of the IPL culminated on May 27th in a thrilling victory by the Chennai Super Kings over the SunRisers Hyderabad. With 425 million posts, comments, and reactions by millions of fans around the world this year’s tournament drove the highest level of conversation Facebook has measured for any IPL.

Tournament winning Captain MS Dhoni was the most talked about player, while his team the Chennai Super Kings were the most talked about team this season.

With an exciting victory by of Chennai Super Kings over SunRisers Hyderabad, the eleventh season of the country's most loved sporting extravaganza came to an end on May 27th. Facebook shares data of some of the social media activity revolving around IPL 2018.

Most “Loved” posts 

CSK Fans couldn't wait for the return of their team and they showed their love for their team on Facebook. Launched on April 6th, the return of the Thala and the updated Whistle Podu anthem was the the most loved post of the tournament.

https://www.facebook.com/TheChennaiSuperKings/videos/1923780640973655/

Mumbai Indians' bowler, Mustafizur Rahman's wishes for Bengali New Year was the second most loved post of the tournament. Shubho Nabo Barsho!

https://www.facebook.com/mumbaiindians/videos/10156165275550429/

MS Dhoni's daughter Ziva was a star of this year's IPL both “on” and “off” the field. This moment with her dad following CSK's qualification into the IPL finals was the third most love post of the season.

https://www.facebook.com/TheChennaiSuperKings/videos/1971786199506432/

Most talked about teams:

• Chennai Super Kings
• Mumbai Indians
• SunRisers Hyderabad

 Most talked about players:

• MS Dhoni(Chennai)
• Virat Kohli(Bangalore)
• Chris Gayle(Punjab)
• Rohit Sharma(Mumbai)
• Suresh Raina(Chennai)

Also Read: Winners Chennai Super Kings and MSD dominate social buzz: MESH Report

LIVE from the IPL
Each season we see cricketers and teams seize the opportunity to share their experiences as they happen and this IPL season fans were be able to get closer to the action than ever before and enjoy real time match analysis, reviews, behind the scenes action, player Q&As and more. 

• Virender Sehwag spends time in the nets,“preparing” for the 2018 season #aprilfools
• Sandeep Lamicchane, Nepal's first ever IPL player, does a fan Q&A with the Delhi Daredevils
• Virat Kohli and the Royal Challengers Bangalore retire their 12th man jerseyas a gift to their fans
• Chennai Super Kings live from the team bus as they return to the hotel following their tournament victory!

https://www.facebook.com/TheChennaiSuperKings/posts/1979917018693350

From the Sports Desk
News and sports publishers, broadcasters, and personalities, including cricbuzz, Crictracker, ESPN Cricinfo, Lokmat, Star Sports and Sportskeeda, took to Facebook throughout the event to provide exclusive match commentary and analysis, as well as engage and entertain fans during the IPL.

Aakash Chopra's #AakashVani kept fans informed throughout the season

https://www.facebook.com/AakashChopraOfficial/posts/1841308919264664

IPL 2018 - Beyond the pitch
Outside of the sports world - celebrities, creators, publishers and more from across India took to Facebook to post about the IPL and join the conversation in their own unique ways.

• Celebrity chef and Delhi Daredevils fan, Kunal Kapur,  went live prior to each match and shared quick recipes for snacks you can eat while watching the IPL.
• Kahwa Entertainment imagines a world where cricketing legends from the past were to play in the IPL with their Senior Citizens Dream #IPL team vox-pop series.
• Aadiya Aattam Ennafrom Smile Settai featured exclusive live post-match reviews to break down famous state rivalries and match performances
• With Duck Se Dude, BIG FM created a light-hearted fiction comedy about a Punjabi boy Manjeet, who has low self-esteem and embarks on a quest to win the love of his childhood sweetheart by entering the world of cricket and in this roller coaster ride discovers his true potential
• Entertainment publisher, Pinkvilla used CrowdTangle Leaderboards and Live Displays to cover the buzz and trending stories around the tournament with IPL Fun da

 Express yourself
In celebration of cricket, Facebook introduced a cricket text background, which, along with the other backgrounds enabled fans to express themselves using status messages before, during and after matches

Also Read: Brands get creative this IPL season…

Facebook Camera - AR Effects

This season four teams, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore built augmented reality experiences for the Facebook camera which allowed fans to get in on the action and demonstrate their support by applying masks and animations to videos they create on the platform.

https://www.facebook.com/mumbaiindians/videos/10156171246155429/

Messenger Bots

To create new ways for their fans to engage with their team, the Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals built messenger bots that sent out updates about the players, upcoming matches, live scores and even links to buy tickets for matches and team merchandise.

It had been a month of some crazy promotion and frenzy advertising over social media. With 425 million posts, comments and reactions, IPL 2018 recorded the highest level of conversation ever in an IPL season.