SCG to have 25 percent crowd capacity

Sourav Ganguly health update: Echocardiography to be done to check Ganguly's heart function

The Woodlands Hospital have said in their latest bulletin that an echocardiography will be done of Sourav Ganguly on Monday 4 January, to check his heart function. The BCCI President was hospitalised after complaining of chest pain on Saturday morning. Echocardiography will be done on Monday to check his heart function, the Woodlands Hospital said in its latest medical bulletin. Earlier, Ganguly was hospitalised at the Woodlands hospital in Kolkata with a heart issue. He later underwent angioplasty on Saturday. The hospital also conducted. COVID-19 test that came out to be negative. "He had an uneventful last night. Presently Afebrile. He is sleeping now [7:30 am]. Pulse-70/min, BP- 110/70mmHg, Spo2-98% in room air. Respiratory rate-16/min. Routine ECG to be done in the morning. Treating doctors are keeping constant vigil on his health situation and taking appropriate measures from time to time," read the statement. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also visited the hospital to see the former skipper. Interacting with the media while leaving the hospital, the chief minister had said, “He (Ganguly) is fine now, he even spoke to me. I thank the doctors and hospital authorities that they have taken the right decision of conducting an angioplasty.” “I did not have the idea that international sportspersons like him do not undergo check-ups. I asked Avishek Dalmiya to conduct medical check-ups of cricketers before games,” she had said.

Covid-19: Cricket activities in Zimbabwe put to halt

The cricket activities in Zimbabwe have been put to a halt after a spike in COVID-19 cases in the country. The Zimbabwean government has subsequently imposed lockdown restrictions. Zimbabwe have recorded 1342 positive cases and 29 deaths in a span of one week. "This is a very challenging situation, but ZC's aim is to reschedule all the affected events and fixtures - including the elite men's domestic T20 competition which was scheduled to begin this Monday - for them to be played as soon as it is deemed safe to do so," ESPNcricinfo quoted ZC as saying in a statement. The Zimbabwe team hasn’t featured in any international fixture since returning from Pakistan in November 2020. They were earlier scheduled to host Afghanistan and India last year but the series were called-off. The domestic T20 in Zimbabwe was also slated to begin from January 4 with the players already in quarantine but the event has been postponed for now. Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, who is also health minister has said that some tighter restrictions have to be imposed. “People must stay at home save for buying food and medicines or transporting sick relatives,” Chiwenga told a news conference. “Only essential services are to remain open such as hospitals, pharmacies and supermarkets, with only essential staff allowed to come to work,” Chiwenga added. Zimbabwe first introduced a tough lockdown in March. The country has recorded 14,084 cases and 369 deaths.

BBL: Buoyant Heat look to halt the Thunder express at Gabba

Brisbane Heat after a thrilling victory over the Sydney Sixers would look to halt another winning express, the across town neighbours of the Sixers, the Thunder. Thunder have looked supreme in the tournament so far, especially after the early defeat to Stars. But Heat are boxed to after a thrilling finish to their last fixture against the then table-toppers Sixers and would not mind beating another table topper. However, beating Thunder is anything but easy, especially with that long batting lineup consisting of some very diverse players who raise their hand at the time of trouble. The bowling line up is equally impressive with the likes of Chris Green and Daniel Sams leading a young but competitive attack. Boosted by Lynn's return, Heat would go for the kill The Brisbane franchise would finally have their captain in the mix as Chriss Lynn has now been allowed to play after he was disallowed to play the next three games, after the Heat’s second BBL 10 fixture against the Thunder. He was reprimanded for breaching the movement protocol and interacting with a member of the crowd. An already strong looking batting lineup which has the likes of Joe Denly, Joe Burns and Lewis Gregory along Jimmy Peirson would get a much needed quick scoring pro at the start of the innings. In his last match, Lynn, 30, had scored 69 and he would love to continue from where he had left against the Thunder at Manuka Oval. Along with Lynn the good form of Gregory, both with the bat and ball and that of Mujeeb too would be a pivotal factor in favour of the Heat ahead of this important contest. A victory here and the team from the land of the deserts would be up and running for the race to the Playoffs. Thunder would back batsmen to strike In all the games won, it has always been the batters who have worked extensively well for a Thunder victory, right from game two onwards. Be it by making huge totals or by standing tall in the face of tough challenges. The main aspect of batting is that it isn’t dependent on a single person. Be it the skipper Callum Ferguson, openers Alex Hales and Usman Khawaja or the new entrant Sam Billings. All of them have risen to the occasion as and when required. This time around too, they would be hoping that someone or the other takes up the responsibility. Ben Cutting would be in the line of course since it is his home ground where the match would be taking place and he himself would be itching to have a crack at the game. He could well turn out to be a game-changer for the Thunder. Heat vs Thunder: Match Details Venue: The Gabba, Brisbane Date and Time: January 4, 01:45 AM IST, 06:15 PM Local, 08:15 AM GMT Broadcaster: Sony Sports Network, Sony LIV Pitch Report Although on a slower side in previous games, prior to the last one, the Gabba pitch finally showed it’s true colour in the match between Heat and Sixers. A pitch that had something for everyone gave the audiences a great time in the game, which resulted in a last-over thriller. A similar wicket would be expected in this game too. Weather and Bat Flip Considering that there would be 87% cloud cover and 25% chance of a shower and also the last four matches, where Heat have chased, in this match too, teh team winning the toss would look to field first and chase down a target as the wicket gets a bit better to bat on. Heat Strongest XI Max Bryant, Joe Burns, Chris Lynn (c), Joe Denly, Jack Wildermuth, Lewis Gregory, Jimmy Peirson (wk), James Bazley, Mark Steketee, Xavier Bartlett, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Thunder Strongest XI Usman Khawaja, Alex Hales, Callum Ferguson (c), Oliver Davies, Sam Billings (wk), Daniel Sams, Ben Cutting, Chris Green, Nathan McAndrew, Chris Tremain, Tanveer Sangha

BBL: Hurricanes on a move, face an off track Stars looking for redemption

The last time these two teams met was not long ago when the Stars, even after reaching the closing distance of a victory, couldn't finish the game and choked on it. This was however not the first time that Stars gave away a game like that. In fact, they have ended up losing their last three games, two of which were pretty close affairs while in one they were just blown away by the Thunder team. Hurricanes on the other hand have had a solid first half in the tournament, winning five of their seven matches, and are at their position just two points below the table-toppers Thunder. Therefore a Malan strong team would like to continue on their winning ways before their stalwarts in Matthew Wade and Tim Paine join for a final hurrah. It can't just be Maxwell all the time for Stars In their last two games that they lost, Stars haven’t really been able to get any help from other players apart from the skipper Glenn Maxwell. The matter of fact is that nobody apart from Nicholas Pooran even tried to stand alongside him during the batting. The likes of Marcus Stoinis, Hilton Cartwright, and Nic Maddinson really haven’t got going and that is a worrying sign for a team that was flawless last year. The bowling has not been up to the mark either and with Adam Zampa serving a two-match ban, it has weakened more than one would have thought. Added to that is the injury to Nathan Coulter Nile and the nonavailability of Dibar Hussain. But it is in these circumstances only that the Stars have to pick themselves up and show what they are made up of as a team. 'Canes look to continue the momentum Hurricanes on the other hand are in a good form and would want to make the best use of home conditions to get as many points as possible before playing away games. The combination of batting giants Colin Ingram and Dawid Malan along with some disciplined bowling from Scott Boland and Nathan Ellis has given Hurricanes what they were looking for. In this combination, the role of all-rounders like James Faulkner and Tim David becomes even more important. And if Hurricanes are able to strike the right balance once again, they might as well be in for another victory. Hurricanes vs Stars: Match Details Venue: Blundstone Arena, Hobart Date and Time: January 4, 10:35 AM IST, 04:05 PM Local, 5:05 AM GMT Broadcaster: Sony Sports Network, Sony LIV Pitch Report It has been a trend in Hobart that true wickets would have something both for the bowlers and the batters and that continued even in the last game. An average score and a good fight between the ball and the bat. That would be on the menu in this game too. Bat Flip and Weather According to the Meteorological department, the city could witness up to five hours of rain in the morning and the cloud cover would remain throughout the day. The game starts at 1605 hrs local time and hence the captains would keep rain, clouds, and duck-worth lewis at the back of their minds while coming for the bat flip. Hence a captain deciding to field first would be taken in as a normal decision. Melbourne Stars Strongest XI Marcus Stoinis, Nick Larkin, Nic Maddinson, Hilton Cartwright, Glenn Maxwell(c), Nicholas Pooran(w), Ben Dunk, Liam Hatcher, Lance Morris, Billy Stanlake, Zahir Khan Hobart Hurricanes Strongest XI D'Arcy Short, Ben McDermott (wk), Dawid Malan, Peter Handscomb (c), Colin Ingram, Tim David, Johan Botha, Nathan Ellis, Scott Boland, Riley Meredith, Sandeep Lamichhane