India’s poor luck at the toss hit a new low on Thursday. They lost their 15th consecutive coin toss in men’s international cricket. The latest came in the fifth and final Test match of the ongoing England Test series at The Oval in London.
England’s stand-in captain Ollie Pope won the toss and chose to bowl first as India’s misfortune with the coin continued. This defeat at the toss also means that Shubman Gill, who is leading India in a Test series for the first time, has now lost all five tosses in the ongoing series. The last time they won a toss was in January this year during a T20I against England under Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy. Since then, the team has gone without a single toss win across all formats.
Earlier in the series against England at Lord's, India had already broken the West Indies’ long-standing record of 12 toss losses in a row from 1999. But the misfortune did not stop there. The streak was stretched to 14 at Manchester and now 15 at The Oval, setting a new, unwanted world record across formats. According to probability, the chances of a team losing 15 tosses in a row are 1 in 32,768, making India’s current streak a statistical anomaly.
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India’s Toss Nightmare Grows Longer as Shubman Gill Follows Virat Kohli into Record Books
This is also just the 14th time in Test history that a team has lost all five tosses in a five-match series. In this century, it has happened only once before and that too with India when they toured England in 2018 under Virat Kohli's captaincy.
Out of the 15 tosses India have lost during this streak, two were in T20Is, eight in ODIs and five in Tests. Toss luck is never in a team’s control, but it can still impact the match, especially in English conditions.
For Shubman Gill, it is a tough start to life as captain. He has not yet won a toss. However, India has stayed competitive in the series. If they manage to win at The Oval, the series will end 2-2.
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India Make Four Changes for Fifth Test
India have made four changes to their playing XI for the final Test. Fast-bowler Akash Deep, who missed the previous match due to a niggle, comes in for Anshul Kamboj.
Wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel replaces injured Rishabh Pant. Prasidh Krishna has also been brought in to replace Jasprit Bumrah, who has been given a break. Karun Nair returns in place of Shardul Thakur.
Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav continue to warm the bench.
