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The India-South Africa Test at Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati, will reportedly have Tea before Lunch due to early sunrise and sunset, marking a first in Test cricket scheduling.
Barsapara Stadium will host the Test between India and Sri Lanka.
(PC: Rajasthan Royals)
In a unique and rather curious change, the India-South Africa Test at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati, to be played from November 22-26, is set to have the Tea break before the Lunch break. For decades in Tests, the first break is Lunch, which is 40 minutes long and the second is Tea, which lasts 20 minutes.
In India, Tests usually start at 9:30 am and the first session lasts till 11:30, followed by Lunch till 12:10. The second session is played from 12:10-2:10 pm, and then Tea is taken till 2:30 pm. Two more hours of play (with an available extension of 30 minutes if the overs aren’t completed) takes Stumps to between 4:30-5:00 pm.
However, according to The Indian Express, at the Barasapara, the match will start at 9 am with Stumps scheduled for 4 pm. The first session will last till 11 am and the break till 11:20 am. The second session will run from 11:20-1:20 pm, followed by Lunch till 2 pm, and the final session till 4 pm.
The report said the reason behind the change is ‘due to the early sunrise and sunset in the eastern part of the country’. In Eastern India, including Assam, the sun rises and sets before most of the country, which means the Test will start losing light around 5 pm.
“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,” the newspaper quoted a source in the board as saying.
It’s interesting because while starting the Test early would help in avoiding bad light ruining some part of the last session, it’s difficult to understand how the switching of Tea and Lunch would help. The breaks will take the same amount of time, one hour as before, even if they’re at different times.
The report said Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided together to change their session timing. The BCCI has altered Test timings before as well, but session switches are rare.
October 30, 2025, 14:43 IST
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