The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has revised the session timings for the second India–South Africa Test in Guwahati, taking into account the region’s early sunrise and sunset hours.
The second Test between India and South Africa will see players having tea first, followed by lunch. Normally, tea prior to supper is a routine followed in day-night Tests, but the BCCI took the special decision for a day Test in Guwahati due to the fast-fading light in north-east India.
The play will also start 30 minutes earlier than usual.
The two-match series kicks off this Friday at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, where a special gold-plated coin, featuring the insignias of the BCCI and Cricket South Africa on each side, will be used for the toss.
The second Test, which starts from November 22, will be the first Test match in Guwahati, which recently hosted several matches in the women’s T20 World Cup.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said the Test would start half an hour earlier than the norm for red-ball Tests in India, including the first Test in Kolkata, which will begin at 9.30 am IST.
The toss in Guwahati will be at 8.30 am IST, with the first session running from 9:00 to 11:00 am. A 20-minute tea break will follow, before play resumes for the second session from 11:20 am to 1:20 pm. Lunch will then be served between 1:20 and 2:00 pm, with the final session to wrap up by 4:00 pm.
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Saikia said that having lunch at 11 a.m., immediately after the first session, would have been too early for the players, prompting the BCCI to adjust the session timings.
“It is a practical decision. 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,” he stated.
