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BCCI breaks 148-year Test tradition: Why will tea be taken before lunch in India vs South Africa 2nd Test at Guwahati?
In a historic shift, the second Test between India and South Africa features tea before lunch to maximize playing time.
Tea before lunch in a Test match sounds like a bad social meme or a county anecdote from the 1890s - but it’s happening for real in Guwahati. At Barsapara, during the ongoing second Test between India and South Africa, players will stop for tea before they break for lunch, overturning the rhythm that has underpinned Test cricket since 1877.
This isn’t just a quirky footnote. It’s officially the first time in 148 years of Test cricket that the sequence has been flipped in a regular 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.
Why Guwahati is flipping the script
The North-East lives ahead of the rest of India in solar time. Guwahati, close to 90°E, sees the sun rise and set far earlier than venues like Mumbai or Delhi, but still follows Indian Standard Time set at 82.5°E. By 4:30 pm, it can feel like late evening - a nightmare if you are trying to squeeze 90 overs without losing time to bad light.
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. The day is now structured as:
- 1st session: 9:00-11:00 am
- Tea: 11:00-11:20 am
- 2nd session: 11:20 am - 1:20 pm
- Lunch: 1:20 pm - 2:00 pm
- 3rd session : 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm (extended 4:30 pm maximum)
A BCCI source earlier explained that the early tea is specifically to deal with early sunset and create extra usable game time in the afternoon, noting that this will be the first time they have decided to change the tea session in this way.
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. There is nothing that says lunch must always come first, which is how Guwahati’s schedule passes the law test.
Also Read: India vs South Africa Live Score, 2nd Test Day 1: Bumrah shocked as Rahul drops sitter at second slip in 1st session
If the structure sounds familiar, it is because day-night Tests have already normalised similar logic, with a shorter tea interval followed by a longer dinner break later under lights. The difference is that Guwahati is doing it in a day Test, driven by sunlight rather than floodlights, a first at this level.
Players, for their part, are treating the shift as one more strategic variable. Indian batter Sai Sudharsan joked, “already drink tea during lunch”, and would probably enjoy the new timing, calling it “exciting to explore.” South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj accepted the logic of “maximise playing time in tricky light”, while opener Aiden Markram admitted he isn’t a fan and hopes it doesn’t become common, even as he conceded that players must “just get on with it.”
Either way, Guwahati has ensured this Test will be remembered for more than runs, wickets and the result. Even if the experiment never spreads, Barsapara now owns a unique line in cricket’s history: the ground where Test cricket finally asked, “Why can’t tea come before lunch?” - and then actually did it.
