India's first Test against England this week will be behind closed doors but fans will be allowed into the second clash as the country's coronavirus figures improve, officials said Wednesday.

The decision to allow 50 percent capacity in sports stadiums means that up to 16,500 people will be allowed into the second Test in Chennai which starts February 13.

The Tamil Nadu state cricket association said the first match in Chennai from Friday would be in an empty stadium "as a precautionary measure for Covid-19".

The second game will be the first home Test for India with spectators since they played South Africa at Ranchi in October 2019.

India has the world's second-highest number of pandemic cases, more than 10.7 million, but numbers of new infections and deaths have fallen dramatically in recent weeks.

The government this week eased pandemic restrictions so that stadiums can operate at 50 percent capacity.