Play in the second Test between India and South Africa in Guwahati will start at 9am (5:30am SA time), with tea before lunch.

November in the far north-eastern city sees dusk fall at about 4pm  so play will start half an hour earlier than normal to ensure a full 90 overs before the light fades.

After the first session there will be a 20-minute “tea” break at 11am. The second session will be followed by a 40-minute “lunch” break at 1:20pm.

“It is a practical decision,” Devajit Saikia, secretary of the BCCI, told ESPNcricinfo. “In winters, sunrise and sunset are very early here in northeast India. By 4pm the light recedes and you can’t play much after. Because of that we have decided to start early.”

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

Guwahati, in the state of Assam, is hosting a Test for the first time beginning on 22 November.

The first match of the two-Test series begins on Friday at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

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