Probability Of 0.000000954: India Lose 20th Consecutive ODI Toss, Cricket World Stunned
The probability of a team losing 20 coin tosses in a row is one in over a million.
- India have lost 20 consecutive ODI coin tosses, an all-time cricket record
- The probability of losing 20 tosses in a row is approximately 0.000000954
- This losing streak began during the 2023 ODI World Cup final
India captain for the ODI series against South Africa, KL Rahul, saw his team hit another all-time low when it comes to coin tosses in the second match of the series at Raipur. Rahul arrived at the toss having put a lot of practice into predicting the outcome, but the result was the same. It was South African skipper Temba Bavuma who won the toss and opted to bowl first, leaving Rahul frustrated at the situation that just continues to get worse. Though coin tosses don't entirely decide the fate of the game, Rahul was hopeful of a turn in fortunes, but the result was India losing the 20th toss in a row in ODI cricket.Â
What left the cricket world scratching its heads was the fact that the probability of a team losing 20 coin tosses in a row was 0.000000954. The second-best ODI record in the streak is 11, held by the Netherlands
With a smile on his face, India's skipper for this series, Rahul, said after losing the toss: "I think the biggest pressure today was the toss. We haven't won one in a long time, so I've genuinely been practising flipping the coin, but clearly it's still not working," said Rahul.
Toss #TeamIndia have been put into bat first.
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 3, 2025
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Former Indian cricketer Shreevats Goswami joked on social media that India should just not decide to come to tosses anymore and let the opponents take it. "India should not come for toss, just let the opponent decide what they want to do. Why waste time," he said.
Speaking of the expectations from the second ODI, Rahul added, "We did really well in the last game. They pushed us, and we know what to expect. Before the series, we spoke about it; we expect dew in every place we play. Put runs on the board, pick wickets early. Wicket looks good. We are playing with the same team."
This unprecedented run of coin tosses in the format began during the 2023 ODI World Cup final and has continued under multiple captains (Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Shubman Gill), making the probability of it occurring an astonishing 1 in 1,048,576.
India Cricket Team
South Africa Cricket Team
KL Rahul