Why will tea be taken before lunch in India vs South Africa 2nd Test?

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-team-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’