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Updated: May 07, 2019 23:05 IST

Students at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, were, as part of their end-semester exams, asked what should cricketer MS Dhoni opt for – fielding or battling – in the Indian Premier League depending on the weather forecast of the day.

In the end semester exam for ‘Material and Energy Balances’, conducted Monday, the question gave the weather details and the possible humidity level of the city. The Chepauk ground in Chennai is hosting a qualifier match for the IPL, where Chennai Super Kings will play against Mumbai Indians.

The question asks the students to justify their choice.

“As per the weather forecast for May 7, the relative humidity in Chennai is expected to be 70%. Temperature at the start of the game is predicted to be 39 degree C, at the beginning of the second innings the temperature is expected to drop to 27 degree C. Based on this info, if MS Dhoni wins the toss, would you recommend batting or fielding first?” the question read.

The question was set by Professor Vignesh Muthuvijayan of the Bio-Technology faculty.

Following the exam, the International Cricket Council (ICC) tweeted the question with the caption: “Shout out to Professor Vignesh @iitmadras for making exams relevant to important, real-life issues.”

Vignesh said, “The idea is to make learning fun for them. Academic enquiry of everyday reality is relevant to understand what students learn. They could apply their academic knowledge in real life situations. Rather than being a mere spectator, they could themselves analyse ....”