Chennai: In a surprise to the students and the nation, IIT Madras, in its question paper, had asked students to help Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni to decide if he must choose to bat or field against Mumbai Indians (MI), depending on the given weather conditions in Chennai for the IPL 2019 Qualifier 1.

Students taking the end semester exam for the Material and Energy Balances paper were given a set of weather conditions predicted for May 7, where CSK were to face MI in IPL playoffs.

The question read, “Dew can play a major role in day-night matches. Excessive dew in the outfield makes the ball wet. For spinners, the challenge is to grip the wet ball and get it to impart spin. For fast bowlers, it is difficult to hit the desired length. Hence, this can put the fielding team at a disadvantage. During IPL 2019, Chennai Super Kings are likely to play a qualifier at Chepauk Stadium on May 7. As per the weather forecast on May 7, the relative humidity in Chennai is expected to be 70 per cent. The temperature at the start of the game is expected to be 39 degrees. At the beginning of the second innings, the temperature is expected to drop to 27 degrees. Based on this info, if Dhoni won the toss would you recommend batting or fielding first. Justify your answer.”

The paper was set by Professor Vignesh who was quoted as saying that he was inspired by his own teachers who would use pop culture references to explain topics. Professor Vignesh, being a cricket fan himself, decided to use the ongoing IPL 2019 to grab the attention of the students, while also making them put theory to practical use.

The question paper has gone viral with even the Indian Cricket Council (ICC) tweeting about it.

ICC took to Twitter to say, “Shout out to Professor Vignesh at @iitmadras for making exams relevant to important, real-life issues! Can anyone help @msdhoni and @ChennaiIPL make a decision before the toss tomorrow? (and show your workings) (sic).”

And of course, Twitterati were soon solving the questions themselves and posting answers about it.

Looks like the professor has more answers to correct than he signed up for.

On Tuesday, Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat first. However, CSK batsmen failed to post a big score and were restricted to 131/4 in 20 overs by MI. The Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai franchise won by six wickets to reach the final.