South Africa’s upcoming tour of India for the two-match Test series is generating plenty of hype, not just for its potential impact on the World Test Championship, but also because it will feature a phenomenon never seen in Test cricket before.
The second Test match between the two sides at Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati, scheduled from November 22, 2025, will mark the first time in Test cricket history that a tea break will be taken before lunch. Typically, per tradition, a Test match playing day goes from the first session to lunch, then from the second session to tea, followed by a final third session. However, due to Guwahati’s unique geographical location near India’s eastern border, which limits the sunlight window, such a schedule will not be possible.
Because of Guwahati’s early sunrise and India’s single time zone, play will begin half an hour earlier than usual, at 9:00 AM local time, and end by 4:00 PM, with a possible extension to 4:30 PM.
But what’s truly catching attention is the rearranged break schedule:
First session: 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM Tea break: 11:00 AM – 11:20 AM Second session: 11:20 AM – 1:20 PM Lunch break: 1:20 PM – 2:00 PM Final session: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
This makes Guwahati’s Test match the first of its kind to have a shorter tea interval before the traditional lunch break, an adjustment made to suit daylight conditions.
Interestingly, the ICC’s Test Match Playing Conditions (updated June 2025) do not forbid switching the order of the two breaks. The rules specify that lunch and tea intervals must total 60 minutes combined, 40 minutes for lunch and 20 minutes for tea, but their sequence can be changed with the consent of both cricket boards and ICC approval.
That means India’s cricket board (BCCI) and Cricket South Africa (CSA) have agreed to this tweak for the Guwahati Test.
While it sounds strange today, this isn’t completely new in cricket’s long history. In the late 19th century, matches in England and Scotland often had flexible meal breaks due to shorter daylight hours. The concept of a dedicated tea break became formalized much later, and now, in Guwahati, it’s being reimagined again.
Whatever the result, for cricket historians, the second test match of the series between South Africa and India might be remembered as the day when Test cricket officially had “tea before lunch.”