India-Pakistan T20 clash sparks surge in food delivery orders, ad rates and dine-in demand

Sunday’s India-Pakistan fixture at the T20 World Cup fired up the cricket-related economy triggering a sharp rise in orders on food delivery platforms while advertisers sought to tap the demand surge especially on broadcaster JioStar.

This followed Pakistan reversing its earlier decision of boycotting the match with India, scheduled to be played in Colombo. Sri Lanka and India are co-hosts of the tournament.

Food delivery platforms Swiggy and Zomato are running ‘flat deals’ on select partner restaurants to ‘cheer for India loudly’, while impulse categories such as snacking and beverages brands have topped-up supplies on quick commerce, expecting over 50% increase in orders.


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Meanwhile, executives at media buying firms noted a last-minute weekend surge in ad rates for the limited available inventory, while some bars and clubs more than doubled dine-in charges over regular Sundays for live screenings.

Equating India-Pakistan encounters to “carnival evenings”, Sagar Daryani, president, NRAI and chief executive and co-founder Wow! Momo Foods said, “We are anticipating a 35–40% surge in delivery sales during peak match hours compared to a regular Sunday.” “The focus also remains on increasing AOV (average order value), which is expected to rise north of 20% on account of match day combos, with similar growth seen in dine-in too.”

Drawing on the match being a top-tier demand driver, advertisers have come aboard across sectors, including Thums Up, Netflix, Google Gemini, Oreo, and Flipkart.

Swiggy’s ‘padosi ke liye order ready rakha hai’ (kept the order ready for the neighbour”, went viral on X, alluding to India's 7-1 record against Pakistan in T20 World Cups.

“We expect today’s business to trend closer to an ICC knockout match than a standard league game,” said Rahul Singh, founder, The Beer Café. “The compressed build-up has really intensified last-minute demand. Despite the late confirmation, we have seen a spike in reservations and enquiries over the last few days, largely from group bookings.”

“Historically, such fixtures deliver nearly 2x the footfall of a regular Sunday, with significantly higher dwell time translating into stronger food and beverage spends,” he said.

Ad spends shot up 25%, with 10-second slots reaching Rs 40 lakh each, compared to Rs 20-25 lakh on normal periods. “Fence sitter advertisers came on board over the weekend, as Pakistan did a U-turn and decided to play the match,” said a senior executive at a media buying firm, requesting not to be named. “Some of our advertisers were particularly keen to get more leverage than direct competitors, even at higher costs.”

Top sponsors on broadcaster JioStar include Britannia, Amul, Hyundai, Emirates, Rapido, and Mahindra & Mahindra. JioStar alone expects to rake in ad revenue of over Rs 2,000 crore from the tournament.

Xenia Jamshyd Lam, general manager, Hyatt Centric Juhu, said the chain is expecting significantly higher footfalls than a regular Sunday, with most outlets likely to operate close to full capacity. “Overall, we anticipate around 15-20% growth in covers and F&B revenue compared to a typical weekend,” she said. “While our menu pricing remains unchanged, certain reserved seating and group bookings may be priced slightly higher than usual due to increased demand.”

Raahul Prabhu, vice president at Solaire he was anticipating a 30–35% increase in footfall and overall business compared to a regular Sunday. Eesha Sukhi, founder of The Bluebop Cafe in Mumbai she was expecting a 50-60% higher footfall compared to a regular sunday evening. "The match is expected to draw a full house, with strong demand from groups of friends and corporate teams," she added.