Published 13:07 IST, December 10th 2020
India vs Australia Boxing Day Test boosted as 30,000 spectators allowed at iconic MCG
Cricket Australia confirmed that the crowd capacity for the Boxing Day Test match for India vs Australia clash has been increased to 30,000 per day.
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India vs Australia 2020 has lived up to the standards as two of the fiercest rivals took to the pitch in November. While the hosts dominated in the One Day Internationals, the touring team took away the T20I series as both the teams won their respective 3 match series with a 2-1 margin. After the completion of while-ball cricket, the actions move on to the oldest format of the game as the Ind vs Aus 2020 schedule has both the teams playing over 4 Test matches against each other.
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The major news revolving around the Test series is all about the second Test match. On Thursday, Cricket Australia confirmed that the crowd capacity for the Boxing Day Test match has been increased to 30,000 per day. The Melbourne Cricket Ground, which holds the Boxing Day Test match, has been permitted to allow those many fans per day during the second Test match, which is nearly 30% of the stadium's total capacity. Martin Pakula, who is the Victorian Sports Minister took to the social media platform, Twitter and expressed his joy around the same.
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The Victorian health authorities approved the same and shared their decision on Thursday that will increase the number of spectators allowed inside the stadium to watch the India vs Australia live game. Earlier, the stadium’s capacity was restricted to only 25,000 spectators a day. However, the number was increased after the state did not record any positive cases of COVID-19 for 41 consecutive days.
Ind vs Aus 1st Test info
The first Test match between India and Australia is scheduled to be a Day-Night match at Adelaide. The Australian health Authorities have allowed the stadium to have 50 percent of the crowd in the stadium to watch the contest live. However, before the start of the Test series on December 17, the Indian cricket team is set to play a three-day pink-ball practice match against Australia A.
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The Boxing Day Test match will be the first time international cricket will return to the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2020. The last time a match was played here with fans present in March when Australia took on India in the Women’s T20 World Cup. The match created a record as over 86,000 fans flocked into the stadium to watch the Women’s T20 World Cup final.
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Big Bash League schedule
The 10th edition of the KFC Big Bash League is set to get underway on Thursday, December 10 with some matches expected to be played at the MCG as well from January 15, 2021. MCG is also the home ground for the Melbourne Stars. The BBL 2020 will see Hobart Hurricanes play Sydney Sixers at Hobart’s Blundstone Arena in the tournament opener though on Thursday. Cricket fans in India can watch the BBL 2020 on the Sony Sports Network. Fans can tune into Sony's digital website and app, SonyLIV to catch the match highlights and live streams of the same.
Here is the tournament schedule -
13:07 IST, December 10th 2020