India, Dec. 21 -- Editor's Note:

As we bid adieu to 2025, for the next few weeks, The Outline by Inc42 will look back at the hits and misses of India's top tech startups and trends this year. Here's the first special edition as part of our 2025 In Review series.

"It's a big score to chase in the second innings, but our team has padded up and is ready to take the field," said Harsh Jain, CEO and cofounder of Dream11, earlier this December.

The metaphor was deliberate. Jain was referring to Dream11's most consequential pivot yet: transforming India's largest fantasy sports platform into a second -screen sports entertainment product. Long synonymous with fantasy cricket, Dream11 now wants to sit alongside the live broadcast, offering crea...