Here's why IND-SA Guwahati Test has tea break before lunch
What's the story
The second Test match between India and South Africa at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati will witness a rare occurrence of a tea break before lunch. This is mainly due to the geographical location of Guwahati, which is in the far eastern part of India, where darkness falls earlier than other places. The move is aimed at avoiding the loss of overs due to bad light. Notably, the game witnessed a half-hour early start, at 9:00pm IST.
Match timings
Guwahati's unique geographical position and match schedule
Guwahati is located at around 90°E longitude, much ahead of the Indian Standard Time meridian at 82.5°E. Although it follows IST like the rest of India, this region sees early sunrises and sunsets compared to other places. The first session of play will run from 9:00am to 11:00am followed by a tea break until 11:20am. The second session will be from then until lunch at 1:20pm with another break until 2:00pm when the third session runs until around 4:00pm.
Venue milestone
Historical significance of the Guwahati Test match
The ongoing Test match is a historic one for Indian cricket as it is the first-ever Test to be played in Guwahati. The Barsapara Stadium becomes the 30th venue in India to host a red-ball international match. South African captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and chose to bat first. Rishabh Pant is leading India in place of Shubman Gill, who has been ruled out due to a neck spasm.
Team updates
Changes in playing XIs for the 2nd Test
Both teams have made some changes to their playing XI for this match. For India, B Sai Sudharsan and Nitish Kumar Reddy have replaced Gill and Axar Patel. South Africa has also made one change with Senuran Muthusamy coming in for Corbin Bosch. The series stands at 1-0 in favor of South Africa after they won the first Test in Kolkata.