iWorld
India vs Australia semi final match smashes record on Twitter
MUMBAI: India’s defeat in the semi final match against Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup may have been disappointing for Indians but the energy set the social media arena on fire.
The India – Australia semi final match recorded the highest number of live Twitter impressions on the platform compared to all ICC Cricket World Cup matches. It garnered close to 161. 4 million Twitter impressions. The previous highest match was the India versus Pakistan match, which accounted for 118.3 million Twitter impressions.
The top tweets per minute (TPM) moments were:
1) Australia winning by 95 runs
2) M.S Dhoni being run out for 65
3) James Faulkner dismissing Rohit Sharma leaving India with 232/9
4) Aaron Finch being dismissed for 81, Australia was 233/4
5) David Warner being dismissed too, Australia was 15/1
The top three mentioned India players were M.S.Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. On the other hand, Steve Smith, Aaron Finch and Mitchell Johnson were the top three players for Australia.
A group MEC report, which analysed the India versus Pakistan and the semi final match against Australia shared some highlights too. It said the chatter around the India-Pak match on 15 February was 0.7 million. On the other hand, the India-Australia semi final match had a chatter of 0.9 million. (All the chatter has been gathered across Twitter, Facebook, other forums and blogs). The report also highlighted that the top two hashtags were #ShameOnTimesNow and #DareToBeDhoni.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
