Guwahati Test to have tea break before lunch with decision due to the fast-fading light in north-east India.
The players in the second Test between South Africa and India will have tea before lunch because of the early dawn and sunset in Guwahati. Due to the rapidly falling light in northeastern India, the BCCI decided to hold a day test in Guwahati instead of the custom of having tea before dinner during day-night tests.
The first Test match at Guwahati, which recently hosted multiple matches in the women’s ODI World Cup, will take place on November 22. Devajit Saikia, the secretary of the BCCI and a native of Guwahati, revealed that the Test will begin 30 minutes earlier than is customary for red-ball Tests in India, including the first Test in Kolkata, which is scheduled to start at 9.30am IST.
In Guwahati, the first session will begin between 9 and 11 a.m., with a 20-minute tea break after the toss at 8.30 a.m. IST. The last session is scheduled till 4 PM, with an additional half-hour if necessary. Lunch will take place between 1.20 and 2 PM.
Saikia claims that the BCCI changed the session times because it would have been too early for players to eat lunch at eleven after the first session ended.
“It is a practical decision,” Saikia told. “In winters, sunrise and sunset are very early here in north-east India. By 4pm the (day)light recedes and you can’t play much after. Because of that we have decided to start early, so play will start at 9 am.”