Star Sports will resume LIVE cricket broadcast for the first time in four months with Cricket South Africa’s all-new 3TC Solidarity Cup.
Star Sports has dedicated eight channels to CSA’s Solidarity Cup – a three-team, eight-a-side cricket tournament. The 36-over games will feature all the three teams. Each team will get to play 12 overs each, split into two halves.
The action, slated to start from 2:00 pm India time on Friday, July 18, will be broadcast LIVE by for the Indian fans on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2 HD.
Star Sports will further leverage its first LIVE cricket property since March, when all the sports action was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with pre- and post-match shows in Hindi and English.
The in-studio pre-game shows and post-match LIVE analysis will be broadcast on Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 Hindi HD, Star Sports 3, Star Sports First. The half-an-hour match preview are slated from 2:00 pm and 2:30 pm while the post-match games will be aired from 6:30 pm to 7:00 pm.
Solidarity Cup, an all-new concept for the game, will feature South Africa’s top 24 cricketers. The matches between three teams of eight players each will see each team playing 36 overs, split into two halves.
Eagles, Kingfisher, and Kites will be respectively led by former South African captain AB de Villiers, wicketkeeper-batsman Henrich Klaasen, and the current white-ball captain Quinton de Kock.
Klaasen has been given the reigns of Kingfishers as Kasigo Rabada was compelled to opt out due to bereavement in the family.
All new features for Cricket:
- No Toss: A draw will determine which team to bat and bowl first and which team to sit in the dug-out in the first half. The top scoring team in the first half will bat first in the first in the second half. In the event of a tie order decided by the draw to stay for the second half.
- Three New Balls: Each team to get a new ball for their quota of 12 overs with a per bowler limit of three overs.
- Last batsman to bat: After seven wickets, the last batsman will be allowed to bat alone. But cannot score in boundaries or in even numbers.
- Winner: The team with highest aggregate from two halves will win the match.
- Super Over: Super over to determine the tournament winner in case of a tie.
In the absence of any LIVE content this year, Star India will be heavily relying on the Indian Premier League. The Board of Control for Cricket in India is considering to host the IPL between September and November. A final decision on the venue and schedule, however, only be confirmed after the International Cricket Council formally confirmed the postponement of the T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia.