The match referee for the 2nd ODI between India and South Africa, Javagal Srinath, was central to a funny incident that took place in Ranchi on Sunday. Standing next to India's and South Africa's stand-in captains Shikhar Dhawan and Keshav Maharaj respectively, Srinath forgot to hand over the coin at the time of toss.
It is the job of the match referee to give the hosts' captain (in this case, Dhawan) the toss at the time of the toss. However, Srinath seemed to have been lost in his own world as he forgot to even take the coin out of his pocket.
As soon as Srinath realised of his mistake, he took the coin out of his pocket and handed it to Dhawan. But, the two captains didn't miss this opportunity to poke fun at Srinath.
Here's the video of the incident:
Team India arrived in the 2nd ODI of the series with two changes. Shahbaz Ahmed and Washington Sundar came into the team as replacements for Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ravi Bishnoi.
At the time of toss, India's stand-in skipper Dhawan said: "We would have bowled first actually, there is going to be dew in the second innings and we are gonna take advantage of that. Two changes for us. Washington Sundar coming in and Shahbaz Ahmed is making his debut today. Ruturaj and Ravi Bishnoi are out."
India are 1-0 behind in the 3-match ODI series after the tourists emerged triumphant in the first ODI. Chasing a target of 250 runs, the hosts could only score 140 despite wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson's brave effort with the bat.
Ruturaj Gaikwad had courted plenty of criticism in the first ODI for his snarling knock at the top. His performance in the opener seems to have played a role in the team management's decision to bench him in the second ODI.