Mumbai: Exciting afternoons for cricket fans to look forward to as Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN), home to the best international cricket action, returns with the broadcast of Australia’s premier T20 competition and one of the world’s biggest T20 cricket events, the 2020-21 Big Bash League (BBL). The Big Bash League will be aired live in the Indian sub-continent from December 10, 2020 with the final taking place on February 6, 2021 on SONY SIX channels.
The Big Bash League was established by Cricket Australia in 2011 and since then the league has gained tremendous momentum by attracting stars from the global cricket fraternity. As the league enters its tenth edition, fans in India will witness a new format but familiar global cricket stars who would take part in the fast paced action with the likes of Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa, Chris Lynn, Imran Tahir, Morne Morkel, Jason Holder, Shaun Marsh, Daniel Hughes, Mitchell Marsh, Andrew Tye, Jason Roy, Sam Billings, Ben Cutting, Alex Carey, James Faulkner, Rashid Khan, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Andre Fletcher and many more.
The much awaited 10th season of the Men’s Big Bash League is back and will host eight teams- Hobart Hurricanes, Adelaide Strikers, Melbourne Renegades, Sydney Sixers, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Thunder, Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Stars. Each team will play in front of their home fans, provided the public health situation and border restrictions remain stable. Introduced last year, this season too will provide an opportunity for top five teams to reach the finals. The fourth and fifth-placed teams will play in the newly titled “The Eliminator” with the winner facing the third-placed team in “The Knock-Out”. This update curated by Cricket Australia also guarantees double the chances to the teams finishing first and second in the regular season.
Cricket Australia has introduced three new exciting innovations – Power Surge, X-Factor Player and Bash Boost that will be implemented in the upcoming edition of the Big Bash League (BBL).
- The ‘Power Surge’ option will provide the batting side greater control over its innings where they would be able to add two overs of power play to the shortened variation of four overs. The four over power play for batsmen is fixed to start from the first over itself. The Power Surge option can be opted by the batting side from the 11th over onwards.
- The teams will also have the ability to make a strategic change beyond the 10th over mark of the first innings where they can avail the option to substitute a player through the ‘X-Factor player’ rule. This player should be named as either the 12th or 13th man on the team sheet and can replace any player who is yet to bat or has bowled no more than one over.
- The Bash Boost concept will come into action in the second innings. Both teams will get a chance to clinch four competition points per match – three points for the overall win and one Bash Boost point, awarded halfway through the second innings. The chasing team would be awarded the Bash Boost point if they are above the equivalent 10-over score of their opposition. However, if they are below par, the fielding side will receive the point.
Watch 2020-21 Big Bash League LIVE from December 10, 2020 on SONY TEN 1, SONY TEN 2 and SONY SIX channels (Schedule until 17th January 2021)
