India vs South Africa 2nd Test: Why Tea Is Being Served Before Lunch in Guwahati?

Having tea before lunch in a Test match seems like something out of a strange cricket tale from the 1890s; nonetheless, this is a reality unfolding in Guwahati. The players taking the tea break before the lunch break during the second Test between India and South Africa at Barsapara Stadium is a re-arrangement of the order of tea and lunch that has been part of Test cricket since 1877. This isn't just a strange footnote. It is the officially recognised first time in 148 years of Test cricket that this sequence has been altered in a standard day game.

Traditionally, a Test day goes toss-lunch-tea-stumps; in Guwahati, it’s toss-tea-lunch-stumps, a tweak born not out of whim but out of geography, daylight, and the reality of India’s single time zone. The North-East of India experiences the sun earlier than the rest of the country. In Guwahati, which is near 90°E, the sun rises and sets much earlier than in cities like Mumbai or Delhi. But the region still follows Indian Standard Time, based on 82.5°E.

Tea Before Lunch in Guwahati Test: A First in 148 Years

This means by 4:30 pm, it can feel like evening, making it hard to fit in 90 overs of cricket before it gets too dark.To protect playing time, the BCCI and Cricket South Africa agreed to start the Guwahati Test at 9:00 am, half an hour earlier than a usual Indian Test, and to finish by 4:00 PM. 

A BCCI source said the early tea is to cope with the sun setting early and to get more playing time in the afternoon. This is the first time they are changing the tea session like this. Importantly, the ICC Test playing conditions only fix duration 40 minutes for lunch, 20 minutes for tea and allow home boards, with touring board and ICC approval, to adjust how those intervals are used, as long as the total break time remains one hour.

Session Timings

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