IND vs ENG | India lose toss again! Can Shubman Gill’s men defy history and avoid series defeat after five toss losses? | Cricket News
NEW DELHI: India captain Shubman Gill lost his fifth consecutive toss in the five-match Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series as England’s stand-in skipper Ollie Pope elected to bowl first under overcast skies in the fifth and final Test at The Oval on Thursday. With the series on the line and India trailing 1-2, the toss loss extends a frustrating streak — India have now lost 15 consecutive tosses in international cricket.Live Score: India vs England, 5th TestStatistically, the odds are stacked against the visitors. This marks the 14th instance in Test history where a team has lost all five tosses in a five-Test series. In only one such instance has the team managed to win the series — England in the 1953 Ashes at home. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Three of the previous 13 series ended in a draw, while the remaining nine ended in defeat for the team that lost every toss. Will this young Indian side under Gill become the tenth team to suffer that fate, or will they script history?
Interestingly, India are still in the fight despite the toss misfortune. They valiantly saved the fourth Test at Old Trafford and come into this match with momentum. A win here would make India only the fourth team ever to save or draw a series after losing all five tosses in a five-Test contest.Adding to the intrigue, for the seventh consecutive Test at The Oval, the team winning the toss has chosen to bowl first. In fact, this trend has extended through 22 consecutive first-class matches at this venue since May 2023.India made four changes to their XI: Dhruv Jurel, Karun Nair, Akash Deep, and Prasidh Krishna came in for Rishabh Pant, Shardul Thakur, Anshul Kamboj, and Jasprit Bumrah. England are without regular skipper Ben Stokes, with Pope leading for the first time in the series.At the toss, Gill remarked, “Don’t mind losing the toss as long as we win the game… The boys are looking for one final push.”Pope was clear in intent: “We’re not going to settle for 2-2, we want to win it.”With rain in the air and history at stake, the Oval finale promises drama till the end.
India vs England 5th Test Playing XIs
India: Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, and Mohammed Siraj.England: Ollie Pope (c), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, and Josh Tongue.
