Published on September 15th, 2020 | by Bibhuranjan

How to Watch IPL 2020 Matches on Hotstar from Australia

Getting in the mood for IPL 2020?

While this year’s tournament has a different feel to it, for very obvious reasons, the excitement of fans all around the world remains as high as ever. In fact, the organizers are expecting the new season to break all previous viewership records.

Especially, here in Australia, cricket lovers can’t wait for the action to get started. The competition is set to feature seventeen cricketers from Australia, including big names like David Warner and Steve Smith. Some players have already joined their squads, and others are due to be arriving soon.

The first match will see last year’s finalists and multiple time champions, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings go head to head. Both teams will be looking to make a statement early in the competition by getting the better of their fellow rival. The fixture will be played on 20^th September 2020, 12:00 am Sydney/Melbourne time.

How can you watch the match live from Australia?

While Foxtel will be showing the full coverage of IPL 2020 on Fox Sports to Australian viewers, it’s Hotstar where the real fun lies. The streaming service has lined up an exciting array of features that will make your IPL viewing experience worthwhile. These include a multi-cam feed, group chat support, and a ball-by-ball predictor game.

Unfortunately, Hotstar is geo-blocked in Australia and can only be accessed using an Indian IP address. However, you can get around the issue of IPL 2021 Live streaming in Australia by using a VPN.

Stream IPL 2020 on Hotstar from Australia with a VPN

A virtual private network (VPN) is a software program that allows you to connect and communicate with a remote network over the internet in a secure way. It encrypts your traffic and masks your real IP address, ensuring your activities remain protected and anonymous from unwanted third parties online. It also allows you to discretely access Desi Sports Betting websites which can earn you rewards during the IPL season.

By connecting to a VPN, you can change your Australian IP with an Indian IP and trick the Hotstar servers into thinking you’re based in India. All your streaming data is routed through the pre-selected Indian network leak-free, making it virtually impossible to track your actual location.

Of course, not all VPNs can unblock Hotstar, and you need a reliable VPN service that can do the job without a hitch. Below are four VPNs you can try. They have all been tested to work with Hotstar from Australia:

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is a British Virgin Islands-based VPN company that operates multiple physical servers in India. These servers are located in Mumbai and Chennai. Both server locations provide fast and stable connections for streaming Hotstar from Australia.

Aside from the physical servers, ExpressVPN also offers virtual servers for India, originally installed in the UK. While you can watch Hotstar on an ExpressVPN virtual server too, the physical servers provide better performance. The company keeps no activity logs and uses Lightway, OpenVPN, IKEv2, and IPSec tunnelling protocols to secure your web traffic.

You can use ExpressVPN with a wide range of devices, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, smart TV, and more. The VPN service allows up to five multi-logins on a single account.

Surfshark

Next is Surfshark.

Like ExpressVPN, Surfshark hails from the British Virgin Islands and maintains three server locations in India. These include Mumbai, Chennai, and Indore.

The Mumbai servers offer the best Hotstar experience from Australia, followed by the Chennai servers. The Indore servers lack consistency and are comparatively slower.

Surfshark is a safe VPN to use. It protects your internet traffic using robust tunnelling protocols like OpenVPN, IKEv2, IPSec, and Shadowshocks. For encryption, it relies on 256-bit cipher keys.

You can connect an unlimited number of devices on Surfshark. The company keeps no record of your online activities. The VPN service offers clients for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices.

NordVPN

NordVPN is a Panama-based VPN company. It offers thirty-one servers in India, the highest of any VPN service. A majority of these servers are located in Mumbai and Chennai, while a few operate virtually from Germany. All servers unblock Hotstar from Australia without any problems. The virtual Chennai servers, however, can sometimes be slow.

NordVPN is a 100% activity-log-free VPN and uses the latest tunnelling and encryption protocols to secure your online communications. The company has recently launched the NordLynx protocol, which provides excellent security and reliability.

The VPN service lets you connect up to seven devices simultaneously and supports a wide variety of platforms. These include Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Android TV, smart TV, and more.

PureVPN

Last but not least, we have PureVPN.

PureVPN hails from Hong Kong and is one of the few VPN services that work with Hotstar. It operates nine servers in India, all located in Chennai. You can connect to any server to watch Hotstar from Australia using the Dedicated IP mode. Alternatively, you can select Streaming Mode > Popular Websites > Hotstar from the app to access the streaming service. The latter automatically connects you to the best server.

PureVPN lags behind ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark in speed, but that’s not much of an issue for Hotstar. However, live streams can sometimes stutter. Try switching the server if you experience any such problems.

PureVPN uses different tunnelling protocols to secure your web traffic and doesn’t store any activity logs. You can use PureVPN on up to ten devices simultaneously.

How to set up a VPN to watch IPL 2020 on Hotstar

Setting up a VPN is easy. Here is a quick walk-through of how to do it, using NordVPN as an example.

Download the VPN on your device

Launch NordVPN and connect to an Indian server

Open Hotstar and log in to your VIP/Premium account using your username and password

Start watching IPL 2020 live from Australia

How to create a Hotstar account from Australia

Up until the 2018 season, you could watch IPL on Hotstar without paying for a subscription. However, last year the streaming service decided to shelve the free option and introduce a paywall. Now, users are required to have a VIP or Premium Hotstar account to stream IPL matches.

To create a Hotstar account for Hotstar from Australia, you need three things: an Indian-issued credit card, phone number, and a local address. Arranging these can be tricky, especially if you’ve never been to India. However, you can ask your friend or relative who lives in India to help you out. Alternatively, you can hire someone on Fiverr to create the account for you in exchange for a small fee.

Tags: cricket, IPL, spors, VPN

About the Author

Bibhuranjan Editorial Officer, technofaq.org I'm an avid tech enthusiast at heart. I like to mug up on new and exciting developments on science and tech and have a deep love for PC gaming. Other hobbies include writing blog posts, music and DIY projects.