Shubman Gill’s misfortune with the coin persisted in the fifth and final Test of the ongoing England series at the Kennington Oval on Thursday. The young Indian skipper called incorrectly once again, marking India’s 15th consecutive toss defeat across formats.
This peculiar sequence spans across multiple series and leadership changes, beginning under Suryakumar Yadav, continuing through Rohit Sharma’s tenure, and now extending under Gill. Contrary to the age-old belief that the toss significantly influences the outcome of matches, India have gone on to win the majority of these games, effectively debunking the myth that the flip of a coin can seal a team`s fate.
India lost their 15th successive toss this morning…
The chance of that happening is 32768-1 🤯#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/mvXakAgtjE
— England`s Barmy Army 🏴🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) July 31, 2025
In fact, India’s unbroken series of toss defeats has now carved out an odd slice of history. This marks only the second time in the 21st century that a team has lost the toss in all five matches of a Test series, and both times, it has been India in England. The previous occurrence came in 2018.
Ahead of the final Test, India’s toss record stood at an unbelievable 1 win in 32,678 theoretical outcomes. With regular England captain Ben Stokes unavailable, Ollie Pope took over the reins for the Oval Test. As the coin went up and came down yet again against India, Pope registered his first successful toss win in five matches as captain, while Gill added another to his winless tally.
The streak shows a broader trend of misfortune that transcends formats. India’s 15 toss losses include two T20Is, eight ODIs, and now five Test matches. Despite the statistical anomaly, their on-field performance has remained largely unaffected.
Notably, this marks the 14th instance in Test history where a team has lost all five tosses in a five-match series. Yet, the sheer consistency of India’s luckless run, especially in recent months, is unprecedented. While the coin continues to fall the other way, India`s on-field dominance remains undeterred.
Gill didn`t dwell too much on the statistics while speaking to former head coach Ravi Shastri and said, “Don`t mind losing the toss as long as we win the game. I was a bit confused yesterday about what to do. It was a bit overcast, but the wicket looks good; we`ll look to post good runs in the first innings. It should be a good pitch for the bowlers. We`ve got three changes. Jurel, Karun and Prasidh in for Pant, Shardul and Bumrah. We look for a win every game we play, we`ve come close, and it`s about that 5-10 per cent extra push, boys will be giving it their all.”
