India's playing 11 the last time they beat New Zealand in the ODI World Cup ft. Rahul Dravid and Dinesh Mongia - where are they now?
Two in-form teams, India and New Zealand, will go up against each other in Match 21 of the ongoing ICC men's ODI World Cup 2023. The much-awaited fixture is scheduled to take place at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Sunday, October 22.
Both India and New Zealand have been the teams to beat so far during the ongoing ICC event. The two teams have thrived in the competition, winning their first four games, and those too with some ease.
While the upcoming game is expected to be a high-octane one, New Zealand have made the fixture quite lop-sided in mega events.
In fact, the two teams have collided 13 times in ICC events, with New Zealand ruling the roost over India by winning 10 of those games. Stunningly, India's last win over the Kiwi unit in an ICC match came way back at the 2003 ODI World Cup, at Centurion in South Africa.
It's been 20 years since Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Kaif's match-saving partnership helped India beat the Black Caps in a Super Six stage clash.
In what was a virtual knockout for New Zealand, they gave India a huge scare with a magnificent display of fast bowling.
India were on top in the first half when Zaheer Khan's brilliant spell of 4/42 bundled the Kiwis out for a mere 146 in 45.1 overs. India were expected to chase the target down with ease, but pacer Shane Bond had other ideas.
The right-armer sent back Virender Sehwag for one before cleaning up Sourav Ganguly (3) with a brilliant yorker. Soon, the in-form Sachin Tendulkar was also caught out for 15.
However, in Bond’s fourth over, the game-changing moment took place when Rahul Dravid edged a full ball to Brendon McCullum, who dropped a simple catch to give India a reprieve.
This was the moment when New Zealand’s elimination was on the cards. Dravid and Kaif proceeded to blunt the Kiwi bowling as they stitched a solid partnership of 129* runs, which aided India to win the encounter by seven wickets and 54 balls in hand.
Ahead of the upcoming 2023 ODI World Cup fixture, we take a look at India's playing XI from their last ODI World Cup win against New Zealand in 2003. We also look at where those players are now.
Openers: Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag
One of the most successful Indian opening pairs in ODI cricket, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag opened during the match against New Zealand. Both the batters got out inside the first five overs.
While Sehwag (1) was undone by Bond, Tendulkar scored three boundaries for his 15 before getting caught off Daryl Tuffey's bowling.
It was a rare failure for Tendulkar in the tournament as the 'Little Master' had a dream campaign. He hammered 673 runs at an average of 61.18 across 11 innings for India, which is the still the most runs a batter has scored in a single edition of an ODI World Cup.
Currently, Sehwag has a school and a cricket academy to his name. He also works as a cricket pundit and is occasionally seen commentating during India games. Tendulkar, meanwhile, is an icon at Mumbai Indians.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, the legend has stayed away from becoming a regular media pundit. He has also avoided coaching responsibilities and administrative work in cricket.
Middle-order: Sourav Ganguly (c), Mohammad Kaif, Rahul Dravid (wk), Yuvraj Singh, and Dinesh Mongia
India had a star-studded batting line-up under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly. The 'Prince of Kolkata' batted at No. 3 in the match, with Mohammad Kaif, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, and Dinesh Mongia following him in the batting order.
While Ganguly was bowled for 3, Kaif (68*) and Dravid (53*) struck fifties. As mentioned earlier, both the right-handers stitched an unbeaten 129-run stand for the fourth wicket.
With both Kaif and Dravid taking India home, neither Yuvraj nor Mongia got the opportunity to bat against the Kiwis.
All the players have retired now, with Ganguly currently being a member of the Delhi Capitals' support staff in the IPL. While Kaif is working as a commentator with Star Sports, Dravid is the current Indian men's team's head coach.
Yuvraj, meanwhile, runs a non-profit organisation and also donned the role of a mentor for the New York Strikers in the Abu Dhabi T10 League in 2022. Mongia, on the other hand, has joined politics.
Bowlers: Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath and Ashish Nehra
India's bowling unit consisted of Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath, and Ashish Nehra in that match. All four bowlers were among the wickets in Centurion, with Zaheer dishing out a phenomenal performance in particular.
The left-arm pacer bagged 4/42 in his eight overs, while Harbhajan took 2/28. Both Srinath and Nehra scalped one wicket each.
All four of them retired as legendary bowlers for India. While Harbhajan is part of the commentating panel for the 2023 ODI World Cup, Zaheer is associated with the Mumbai Indians.
Srinath, who is India's all-time highest ODI wicket-taking pacer, is currently a distinguished member of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees. Nehra, meanwhile, is the head coach of Gujarat Titans (GT).