WATCH: IPL 2026 Toss Controversy: Why Was GT vs RR toss repeated? Fans recall 2011 World Cup final drama

GT vs RR toss controversy: An unsung incident was seen even before the first ball was bowled in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 Qualifier 2 between Shubman Gill’s Gujarat Titans (GT) and Riyan Parag’s Rajasthan Royals (RR) in New Chandigarh. What is usually a routine pre-match formality suddenly became a talking point and left players, commentators and fans surprised.

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Unusual scenes during the toss in New Chandigarh

Ahead of the high-stakes clash, captains Riyan Parag and Shubman Gill walked out for the toss with presenter Ravi Shastri. However, confusion emerged immediately after the coin landed.

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Gill flipped the coin and Parag appeared to make his call. The coin landed on tails, and for a brief moment it seemed Gujarat Titans had won the toss. Gill even started walking towards Ravi Shastri, seemingly expecting to discuss his decision.

But before any announcement could be made, the match referee intervened and told both captains that he had not heard the call clearly. As a result, the toss was declared invalid and a second toss was ordered.

Re-toss changes the outcome

The second toss produced a different result. This time, Parag clearly called “heads” into the microphone before the coin landed in Rajasthan Royals’ favour. The RR skipper then chose to bat first in the knockout encounter.

The incident visibly frustrated Gill, especially because Gujarat’s original toss result appeared to have gone their way before the re-toss was ordered.

Gujarat would have chosen to bat first

Interestingly, the re-toss may not have changed much in terms of strategy.

After losing the toss, Gill revealed that Gujarat Titans would also have preferred to bat first had they won the toss. Even so, the unusual sequence of events quickly became one of the biggest talking points of the evening.

Many fans on social media were reminded of another famous toss controversy from Indian cricket history.

Memories of the 2011 World Cup final

The incident brought back memories of the 2011 ODI World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.

On that occasion, the toss also had to be conducted twice after the match referee failed to hear the captain’s call during the first attempt. MS Dhoni tossed the coin again and Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara eventually won the second toss.

Even today, some cricket fans continue to debate who actually won the original toss in the 2011 World Cup final.

Team news from Qualifier 2

Rajasthan Royals went into the match with an unchanged playing XI after their Eliminator victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Gujarat Titans, meanwhile, made one change to their side, bringing in Sai Kishore in place of Kulwant Khejroliya for the crucial contest.

With a place in the IPL 2026 final on the line, the toss drama provided an unusual start to what promised to be another memorable playoff encounter.