Lunch break time in Test cricket in India: How long are lunch and tea breaks in Test cricket?

Lunch break time in Test cricket: A normal day of Test cricket has a custom of witnessing two breaks namely lunch and tea.

A normal uninterrupted day of Test match cricket follows the norm of three sessions separated by two breaks in between. Because playing for seven hours on the trot can be exhausting, rules have rightly been made around players playing for two hours and then stopping for a break.

Titled as lunch break and tea break respectively, these two breaks vary from each other with respect to time but are taken after the players indulge in two hours of battling it out in the middle.

Lunch break time in Test cricket

While a lunch break in Test cricket lasts for 40 minutes, a tea break lasts for only 20 minutes. Below is the time table of how a normal Test match day looks like considering if it begins at 09:30 AM (can vary from venue to venue) just like in the ongoing Test series between India and England.

Start time – 09:30 AM.

First session (Morning session) – 09:30 AM to 11:30 AM.

Lunch break – 11:30 AM to 12:10 PM.

Second session (Afternoon session) – 12:10 PM to 02: 10 PM.

Tea break – 02:10 PM – 02:30 PM.

Third session (Evening session) – 02:30 PM – 04:30 PM.

Extra time (mandatory if fielding team hasn’t completed 90 overs per day) – 04:30 PM – 05:00 PM.

It is worth mentioning that all these timings can be adjusted accordingly especially when the match goes through a rain delay, innings break or any other kind of delay.

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In some cases, players take an early lunch or tea break to make sure they don’t have to take a break after a few overs in the middle. This option is taken only on a day of an interruption to prevent further loss of time.

How long are lunch and tea breaks in a day/night Test?

The only change with respect to timings in a day/night Test match is that a dinner break is taken instead of a lunch break. Because day/night Tests begin in the afternoon, players break for dinner and tea respectively.

Below is the time table of how a normal day/night Test match day looks like considering if it begins at 01:30 PM (can vary from venue to venue).

Start time – 01:30 PM.

First session (Afternoon session) – 01:30 PM to 03:30 PM.

Dinner break – 03:30 PM to 04:10 PM.

Second session (Evening session) – 04:10 PM to 06: 10 PM.

Tea break – 06: 10 PM – 06:30 PM.

Third session (Night session) – 06:30 PM – 08:30 PM.

Extra time (mandatory if fielding team hasn’t completed 90 overs per day) – 08:30 PM – 09:00 PM.

How long are lunch and tea breaks in a day/night Test match in India?

Depending on the venue, day-night Test matches can have a couple of breaks in contrasting order. In the past, there have been instances of tea and dinner breaks getting swapped. In the ongoing third Test match between India and England in Ahmedabad, tea break has been taken before the dinner break.

Below is the time table of how a normal day/night Test match day in India looks like considering if it begins at 02:30 PM.

Start time – 02:30 PM.

First session (Afternoon session) – 02:30 PM to 04:30 PM.

Tea break – 04:30 PM to 04:50 PM.

Second session (Evening session) – 04:50 PM to 06: 50 PM.

Dinner break – 06: 50 PM – 07:30 PM.

Third session (Night session) – 07:30 PM – 09:30 PM.

Extra time (mandatory if fielding team hasn’t completed 90 overs per day) – 09:30 PM – 10:00 PM.