In what can only be described as a statistical freak show, the Indian men's cricket team has now lost 15 consecutive tosses across formats, the most recent one being at The Oval in the fifth and final Test against England.

The probability of losing 15 tosses in a row, assuming a fair 50-50 coin each time, is approx 0.003% or 1 in 32,768.

To put that in perspective: you're more likely to be struck by lightning this year than lose 15 fair tosses in a row.

And yet here we are. Shubman Gill, who took over the red-ball reins after Rohit Sharma, has now lost all 5 tosses in this Test series.

The last time an Indian captain won a toss? Suryakumar Yadav on January 28. Since then, Rohit Sharma and now Gill have kept flipping, and kept losing.

Former England captain Mike Atherton couldn’t resist poking fun. “You’re doing the tosses, you’re responsible too. You’ll get sacked,” he told Ravi Shastri, who presided over all five tosses in the series.

Shastri laughed, saying Gill didn’t even bother to look up when the coin landed. At this point, you wouldn’t either.

But it’s not just bad luck, it's historic. This is only the second time in the 21st century that a team has lost all 5 tosses in a five-Test series. The last time was also India, also in England, back in 2018.

Still, the bizarre streak hasn’t thrown India off its game completely. Rohit Sharma led India to a Champions Trophy win without winning a single toss. Now, Gill is hoping to seal a respectable finish, if not in fortune, then at least in result.