WATCH: Coin Toss under the scanner again; Match referee picks up coin before being shown on Camera during MI vs KKR match

The coin toss happening before the game has garnered more traction than the cricketing action unfolding in the middle throughout this edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
 By Darpan Jain May 3, 2024, 21:50 IST
Coin toss under the scanner again.?width=963&height=541&resizemode=4
Fans felt the toss was rigged again to favour MI, so the match official made a wrong call and deliberately picked the coin before the visuals were shown on TV.

The coin toss happening before the game has garnered more traction than the cricketing action unfolding in the middle throughout this edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). It all started during one of the games between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) earlier in the tournament.

Hardik Pandya tossed the coin as the home captain, and Faf du Plessis, the opposition captain, called it wrong. However, the fans claimed that the match referee, Venkatesh Prasad, flipped the coin after picking it to let MI get an unfair advantage.

Later, Faf du Plessis narrated the whole incident to Pat Cummins in RCB’s next encounter, meaning he also felt the toss was rigged. To avoid such incidents and maintain transparency, the cameraman started showing the coin after being flipped by the home captains after that game.

Whenever the coin comes down, the cameraman focuses on it, and the match referee doesn’t pick it up immediately to let viewers see the outcome. However, the toss has come into the limelight again after the toss ahead of a vital contest between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Friday (May 3).

Match referee picks the coin before being shown on TV

In Match 51 between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders, Hardik Pandya threw the coin in the air as the home captain, and Shreyas Iyer made his call. As the coin landed, the outcome came in the favour of MI because Iyer had called it incorrectly.

However, the match referee, Pankaj Dharmani, picked up the coin and took it away with him before the cameraman could focus and show it to the viewers on the live feed. The match referee’s antics received immediate flak, and fans started questioning his move.

Fans felt the toss was rigged again to favour MI, so the match official made a wrong call and deliberately picked the coin before the visuals were shown on TV. However, there is no confirmation, and the outrage might be false.

However, Pankaj could have avoided it to remove any doubts. Unfortunately, Mumbai Indians’ image is maligned again across social media platforms, for they have been the common side on both occasions.

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