The crowd capacity for the third Test between India and Australia, starting at Sydney from Thursday, has been reduced to 25 per cent of the SCG's seating capacity. The decision has come after new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the city.

"Acting on the advice of the NSW Government, Cricket Australia and Venues NSW are working together to ensure the safety of patrons attending the Vodafone Pink Test on January 7, with a crowd capacity limited to 25 per cent initially," Cricket Australia said in a statement.

Those who have pre-purchased a ticket for the match will receive a full refund. The match will be re-ticketed from Monday.

Nick Hockley, CA's Interim CEO, said that the safety of fans, staff, players, broadcast partners and match officials would continue to be the utmost priority for the third Test at the SCG as we continue to listen to the advice of NSW Health. "In response to the public health situation in NSW, we are working closely with Venues NSW and NSW Health to put appropriate bio-security measures in place for our staff, players, match officials, broadcasters and fans to ensure we play the third Test at the SCG safely," Hockley said.

"Reducing the capacity of the venue is crucial in achieving social distancing requirements, and we sincerely thank ticket-holders for their patience, as we process refunds today, reconfigure the SCG seating plan to deliver these social distancing measures and go back on sale," he added.

The ongoing four-match series is currently levelled at 1-1 with Australia winning the first Test at the Adelaide Oval while India registered a win in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

(With inputs from IANS)