Cricket

India vs South Africa 2nd Test to have Tea before lunch for the first time

For the first time in Indian Test history, the India vs South Africa 2nd Test in Guwahati will have the Tea break before Lunch. Find out the new session timings (9 AM start) and why this rare change was implemented to maximise daylight.

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Test matches often go like this: toss, lunch, tea, stumps (the last play of the day), etc. However, it will soon be overturned in the second Test match between South Africa and India, which will begin on November 22 in Guwahati. The players will take a tea break prior to lunch for the first time. The early sunrises and sunsets in the country's east are to blame.

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In day-night Test cricket, the tea break comes after the first session, although in red-ball Test cricket history, no match has ever started with the tea break as the first interval. The first such incident in a red-ball Test will take place in Guwahati's Barsapara Cricket Stadium, which is hosting a Test match for the first time, next month.

The early sunrise and sunset in this region of the country are the only reasons for the sequence shift. The first session of the India vs. South Africa second test is scheduled to begin at 9 AM and end at 11 AM, with a 20-minute tea break starting at 11 AM, according to an article in the Indian Express.

The second session will take place between 11:20 AM and 1:20 PM. Lunch will be served between 1:20 and 2 p.m. From 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, the third play session will take place. Test matches in India typically begin around 9:30 AM.

The 20-minute tea break usually starts at 2:10 PM, and the 40-minute lunch break usually starts at 11:30 AM. At 2:30 PM, the third session begins, and it ends at 4:30 PM. To allow teams to play 90 overs a day, the umpires give them an extra half hour.

“The reason to have early tea is because Guwahati witnesses early sunset and there is early start too. This will be the first time we have decided to change the Tea session as time will be saved to get extra game time on the field,” a BCCI source told the Indian Express.

In order to keep the game playing in natural light, the Guwahati Test will thus be a historic scheduling experiment that combines tradition and practicality.

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