Cricket tradition is being turned upside down in Guwahati where the India and South Africa players will take tea before lunch in the second Test due to the region’s early sunrise and sunset.

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) has taken the unusual step of reversing the normal refreshment order for the second Test starting on November 22, which will be Guwahati’s first-ever Test match at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium.

The decision was driven by the early sunrise and fast-fading light in the far north-eastern city in the state of Assam.

“It is a practical decision,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, who hails from Guwahati, told cricket website ESPNcricinfo. “In winters, sunrise and sunset are very early here in north-east India. By 4 pm 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.”

November in Guwahati sees dusk fall at about 4:00 pm so play will start half an hour earlier than usual for red-ball Tests in India to ensure a full 90 overs before the light fades.

India has just one time-zone across a vast country which spans from points further east than Bangladesh to the western Arabian Sea.

The first Test at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens from November 14-18 begins at 0930 local time, but the revised schedule for the second test will have the toss at 0830 am before a 0900 start.

The first session will be played until 11 am when players have a 20-minute tea break. Lunch will be taken between 1320 and 1400, with the final session wrapping up by 1600.

The teams will have key players returning, with Indian wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant set to make his comeback from a foot fracture while South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma is back in the squad after recovering from a calf injury.

Bavuma missed the tour of Pakistan where Aiden Markram stood in as captain and South Africa forced a 1-1 draw.

Formidable home record

India are third in the World Test Championship while defending champions South Africa are fourth.

“This series is crucial for the new WTC cycle, especially since South Africa is the defending champion,” India pace bowler Mohammed Siraj told broadcasters JioStar.

“While they drew 1-1 with Pakistan, we’re confident from our own good form. We created a positive environment, performed well in England and won against the West Indies.”

India’s recent 2-0 sweep of West Indies took them past South Africa to be the third most successful team at home in Test cricket.

They have 122 wins in the five-day format in India, behind only Australia, who have 262 home wins and England who have 241.

South Africa have a poor recent record in India, having lost their previous two series 3-0. Their last series win came under Hansie Cronje in 2000.

“There’s a real hunger and desire to beat India in India,” South Africa’s spin spearhead Keshav Maharaj told reporters on Tuesday.

“It’s probably one of the toughest tours, if not the toughest tour, on the Proteas calendar through various generations and some people were fortunate enough to cross the hurdle.

“It will be a wonderful opportunity to grade ourselves, to see how far we’ve come. Slowly but surely, we started to conquer other parts of the subcontinent, and I feel like this is one assignment that we really, really want to take.”