Cricket

In an unprecedented display of flair, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer introduced a novel twist to the coin toss ritual during the IPL Final against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai on Sunday. As Iyer prepared to flip the coin, he executed an unexpected pirouette, completing a full circular motion before the coin descended to the ground.The bizarre incident drew amused reactions from commentators and viewers alike, with Iyer himself sporting a wry smile. However, the unconventional toss did not favor the Knight Riders, as Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins emerged victorious and elected to bat first.The match marked the culmination of a thrilling IPL season, with both teams seeking to add to their trophy cabinets. Kolkata Knight Riders have previously won the title twice, while Sunrisers Hyderabad are aiming for their second IPL triumph.Sunrisers Hyderabad made a single change to their lineup, bringing in Shahbaz Ahmed in place of Abdul Samad. Kolkata Knight Riders, on the other hand, retained the same eleven that had secured their victory in Qualifier 1.The playing XIs for the Final were as follows:Sunrisers Hyderabad:* Pat Cummins (c)* Travis Head* Abhishek Sharma* Rahul Tripathi* Aiden Markram* Nitish Reddy* Heinrich Klaasen (w)* Shahbaz Ahmed* Bhuvneshwar Kumar* Jaydev Unadkat* T NatarajanKolkata Knight Riders:* Shreyas Iyer (c)* Rahmanullah Gurbaz (w)* Sunil Narine* Venkatesh Iyer* Rinku Singh* Andre Russell* Ramandeep Singh* Mitchell Starc* Vaibhav Arora* Harshit Rana* Varun ChakaravarthyThe match promised to be a thrilling encounter between two evenly matched teams. With the unique coin toss adding an element of intrigue, the IPL Final was set to provide a memorable conclusion to the tournament.

Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) new skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad, has been enduring a dismal run of luck in coin tosses this Indian Premier League (IPL) season. In Wednesday's match against Punjab Kings, Gaikwad lost his ninth coin flip in 10 matches, a streak that has become a source of frustration for the team.Punjab Kings capitalized on the toss advantage and the conditions at Chepauk, exploiting the opportunity to hand CSK a seven-wicket defeat on their home ground. Gaikwad acknowledged the pressure he feels during coin tosses and revealed that he has even been practicing them before matches."I've practiced the tosses (during the practice sessions), it's not going well in the match, not sure what to do. To be truthful, I'm under pressure when I go to the middle (for the toss), not at the game," Gaikwad said after the match.CSK's batting performance was lackluster, managing only 162 runs after being put into bat. Punjab Kings chased down the target with 13 balls to spare, thanks in part to the dew factor that aided their chase.Gaikwad admitted that his side was around 50-60 runs short and that the dew factor played a significant role in Punjab's victory. "Probably 50-60 runs short, the pitch wasn't great when we batted, it got better later on. With the impact rule as well, we were well short.""Very difficult (on defending 162 in dew). Even in the last game, we were quite surprised that we would win by that much margin. This is something we can't control. We can slightly bat better in the first innings. In the last 2 games, we tried our best to get 200-210. This pitch it was tough to get 180," Gaikwad added.With 5 wins and 5 defeats in 10 matches, defending champions CSK sit at the fourth spot on the points table. Punjab Kings, on the other hand, have 4 wins in 10 outings and are on the 7th spot.