The India-South Africa Test match at Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati will feature an adjusted playing schedule, with the order of the lunch and tea breaks reversed. This change arises from Guwahati's location in the far eastern part of India, which results in earlier sunrises and sunsets compared with other venues.
Traditionally, Test matches in India begin with a lunch break as the first interval, followed by tea. However, the Guwahati Test will reverse this sequence to make the most of the available daylight and reduce the risk of losing playing time to early sunsets.
"The reason to have early tea is because Guwahati witnesses early sunsets and there is an 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 board official was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
Guwahati experiences earlier sunsets than most parts of India because it lies in the far eastern part of the country, around 90°E longitude. Being about an hour ahead in solar time compared with the Indian Standard Time meridian (82.5°E), the sun rises and sets earlier there, even though the entire country follows a single
time zone.
Tea before lunch in Tests
Unique first at India-SA Test at Guwahati
FE Team | Published: October 30, 2025 22:18:25
Tea before lunch in Tests
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