India are all in a spin after losing a scarcely believable 20 coin tosses in a row in one-day internationals – at odds of more than a million-to-one.
Stand-in captain KL Rahul admitted he was flummoxed at the run of bad luck that goes all the way back to the 2023 World Cup final in Ahmedabad, when Rohit Sharma was in charge.
"I've been practising, but clearly it's not working," said Rahul after losing the flip again in the second one-day international against South Africa in Raipur on Wednesday.
The odds against losing 20 consecutive coin tosses are 1 048 576 to one, a statistical anomaly that Rahul wants to end in the third and final South Africa ODI on Saturday in Visakhapatnam.
"Honestly, that's the most pressure I've had because we haven't won a toss in a long time," Rahul said after seeing opposite number Temba Bavuma call correctly, yet again.
Three Indian captains – Rohit, regular ODI skipper Shubman Gill and Rahul – have all tried and failed to win a toss since the last correct call against New Zealand on 15 November 2023, at the World Cup semifinal in Mumbai.
"Rahul said that he'd been practising, but how do you know what the opposition captain is going to call?" batting great Sunil Gavaskar told broadcaster JioStar.
"Because you know, for the first game, it was Aiden Markram who was captain.
"So Markram might be a person who likes opting for 'heads', and Temba Bavuma might be a captain who likes to opt for 'tails'."
Former South Africa pace bowler Dale Steyn said Faf du Plessis once asked Bavuma to toss for him after a lengthy losing sequence.
"It's the first time I have ever seen a captain ask one of the other players to come and do a toss," said Steyn.
"Temba also lost that toss."