5 cricketing events that hadn't happened the last time India won an ODI toss before IND vs SA 2025 series

Team India's lengthy wait for a coin toss win in ODIs finally came to an end as South Africa captain Temba Bavuma called wrong in the series decider in Vizag on Saturday, December 6. Their last successful outing with the coin in the format had come during the 2023 ODI World Cup semi-final against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium.

Since then, in ODIs, India failed to call right, or the opposition captain always made the right call at the toss to result in a string of 20 successive coin losses in the format. While the team had a poor run with the coin in T20Is and Tests as well, it was pale in comparison to the run that the team had to suffer in ODIs.

With a gap of over 2 years between India's last two toss wins in ODIs, a lot has transpired in that particular window.

On that note, let us take a look at five cricketing events that hadn't happened the last time India won an ODI toss before the IND vs SA 2025 series.

#1 Gautam Gambhir had not become Team India head coach

When Team India had last won the ODI toss before the third ODI against South Africa, Gautam Gambhir had not become the head coach. In fact, he was not even appointed as the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor as well. He left the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to join his former franchise ahead of the IPL 2024 season.

The former cricketer eventually took over from Rahul Dravid as the Team India head coach after the 2024 T20 World Cup. Under Gambhir, as far as ODIs are concerned, India had played an away series against Sri Lanka and Australia, and a home series against England, as well as the 2025 Champions Trophy. The Men in Blue underwent all of these events without winning a single toss.

#2 Team India had not ended their ICC silverware drought

Team India's barren run with the toss had begun towards the end of the 2023 ODI World Cup, and a loss to Australia in the finals of the event meant that their quest for an ICC trophy since 2013 continued.

India eventually ended their dreaded run by winning the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA), and then going on to become the first-ever three-time winners of the Champions Trophy.

#3 Team India had never been whitewashed at home in a three-match series

When India had last won the toss prior to the ongoing ODI against South Africa, they were proud owners of a stellar streak at home. They had not lost a single home Test series since 2012, and had never been whitewashed at home in a series comprising at least three matches.

However, both of those records crumbled down simultaneously during New Zealand's 3-0 clean sweep in the subcontinent in late 2024. The Rohit Sharma-led side were blown apart in Bengaluru, Pune, and Mumbai, to end with a shocking series result that hurt them in the race for the World Test Championship (WTC) Final.

#4 Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had not become one-format players

During the 2023 ODI World Cup campaign, both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were all-format players. It was amid India's streak of ODI toss losses that they announced their retirements from multiple formats of the game.

The legendary duo announced their retirement from T20 cricket right after the 2024 T20 World Cup Final, and then soon stepped away from the longest format as well, ahead of the 2025-26 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

#5 Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) had not become IPL champions

In 2023, RCB were still awaiting their first Indian Premier League (IPL) title since their inception. However, the franchise did not have to wait too long as they were finally crowned champions in 2025 after a fairytale campaign under Rajat Patidar's captaincy.

It was during India's barren luck with the coin that RCB conducted a massive overhaul at the 2024 IPL mega auction. The franchise retained only Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal, and Rajat Patidar, and went all out on the auction floor to construct a new-look squad from top to bottom.