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The FIFA World Cup may have taken the world by storm but patriotism still beats hype. The Asia Cup match between India and Pakistan had more than twice the number watching than the most-viewed football match: Portugal vs Brazil.

The men in full pants have beaten the boys in shorts as far as Indian television audience goes. The FIFA World Cup may have taken the world by storm but patriotism still beats hype. The Asia Cup match between India and Pakistan had more than twice the number watching than the most-viewed football match: Portugal vs Brazil.

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Even on average, the Asia Cup got a viewership rating of 1.7 per cent, compared to 0.65 per cent for the first 50 games of the football gala. These figures were measured by TAM Peoplemeter System, which counts TV audiences across cable and satellite homes among viewers above four years of age.

The TAM numbers are 3.9 per cent for the India-Pakistan match and 3.8 per cent for the India-Lanka final. Compare this to 1.93 per cent for the most watched football match.

Expectedly, West Bengal led the numbers following the World Cup, followed by Kerala and Assam. The rest of the country preferred the Kookaburra to the Jabulani.

The other audience measurement company, aMAP, too has numbers that go the same way — a net reach of 28 lakh for India-Lanka, 23 lakh for India-Pakistan and 15.2 lakh for Brazil-Portugal.

That clearly tells you which way the ball is turning.