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Published 12:36 IST, November 10th 2020

50% of Adelaide Oval to be open to crowds for India vs Australia Test amid COVID pandemic

Cricket Australia on Tuesday announced that 50% of the stadium's capacity will be open to the crowd for the Adelaide Test, set to be played from December 17.

Reported by: Jitesh Vachhatani
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Confirming the presence of fans for the Test series during India's tour, Cricket Australia on Tuesday announced that 50 per cent of the stadium's capacity will be open to the crowd for the Adelaide Test, set to be played from December 17 onwards. The Test at Adelaide Oval, which will also be the first day-night Test between India and Australia, will feature nearly 27,000 spectators amid the COVID-19 crisis. The Tests series is also expected to be the first series to witness live crowd after the COVID outbreak, due to which all matches are being played behind closed doors. 

"The Adelaide Oval is restricted to 50 per cent capacity, with 27,000 tickets available for each day of the opening day-night Test," Cricket Australia informed on Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, the most significant Test of the year - the Boxing Day test - will open the stands to only 25 per cent of its total capacity, as sanctioned by the Victorian government. On the other hand, the fourth Test at Brisbane might witness up to 30,000 people with 75 per cent of the total capacity being open for the crowd.

"At present, the Victorian Government has approved 25,000 fans for each day of the Boxing Day Test across public, member and corporate tickets. With the improving COVID19 situation in the city, it is hoped more tickets may be able to be put on sale closer to the time, but this is yet to be confirmed," the CA reported. 

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Virat Kohli to miss 3 Tests 

Granting paternity leave to Virat Kohli, the BCCI on Monday announced that the Team India skipper will fly back to India after the first Test in Adelaide. With several players sustaining injuries during the IPL 2020, the BCCI also made additional adjustments to the previously announced squad for the upcoming tour of Australia which commences on November 28. The national board has also decided to include Rohit Sharma to the Test squad while resting him for the limited-overs series after he sustained an injury in the IPL. A decision on Wriddhiman Saha's inclusion in the Test squad will be taken later as he sustained a hamstring tear in the IPL game on November 3. The board has also been monitoring veteran speedster Ishant Sharma, and a call on his inclusion will be taken once he gains sufficient match fitness. 

Check the revised squads here

India's Tour of Australia 

India will kick off their tour to Australia with a three-match ODI series starting on Friday, 27 November, followed by as many T20Is and four Tests. The T20Is will be played in Canberra (4 December) and Sydney (6, 8 December). 

The first Test will be a day/night affair, from 17-21 December at the Adelaide Oval. The Melbourne Cricket Ground (26-30 December) will host the Boxing Day Test, before the action moves to the Sydney Cricket Ground (7-11 January) and the Gabba (15-19 January). With India currently on top of the World Test Championship table and Australia in second, the series is expected to be a thriller, as it will also be a part of the ICC World Test Championship. 

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(Image Credits: AP)

12:36 IST, November 10th 2020