India's playing 11 from the last time they faced South Africa in an ODI in Kolkata ft. MS Dhoni, RP Singh - where are they now?
India will battle South Africa in an ODI World Cup match tomorrow (November 5) in Kolkata. It will be the eighth match of the mega event for both the teams. While India have already qualified for the semifinals, South Africa still need to win one more match to seal their place in the top 4.
The Proteas have played top-quality cricket in the 2023 World Cup so far, registering six wins in seven matches. They have a decent idea of the conditions in India, which has helped them perform well in the competition.
South Africa have played against India in Kolkata multiple times before. The last time Eden Gardens hosted a match between these two teams was on November 25, 2005. India lost that match by 10 wickets.
In this listicle, we will look at India's playing XI from that game and where those players are now.
Batters and All-rounders - Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Pathan, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid (c), Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif and MS Dhoni (wk)
Rahul Dravid captained India in that match. The Indian team's top-order collapsed, with openers Gautam Gambhir and Irfan Pathan returning with scores of 11 and 0. Even Sachin Tendulkar lost his wicket for two runs, while captain Dravid scored six runs off 31 balls.
Virender Sehwag's 21-ball 30, Yuvraj Singh's half-century and Mohammad Kaif's 46-run knock helped India reach 188 runs. MS Dhoni scored 14 runs off 26 balls.
All the players have retired from international cricket now. Gambhir works as a global mentor for Super Giants franchises, commentator and politician. Pathan and Kaif are commentators for Star Sports and play in leagues of retired cricketers.
Tendulkar is the icon of Mumbai Indians and captain of India Legends in Road Safety World Series. Sehwag leads the Gujarat Giants in Legends League Cricket besides working as a cricket expert. Yuvraj plays in leagues of retired cricketers and works as a mentor for the New York Strikers in Abu Dhabi T10 League.
Dhoni is still active in the IPL, captaining the Chennai Super Kings team. Dravid is the head coach of the Indian side now.
Bowlers - Ajit Agarkar, RP Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik
India played with four specialist bowlers in their last ODI against South Africa in Kolkata. Ajit Agarkar and RP Singh formed the pace attack with Irfan Pathan, while Harbhajan Singh led the spin department. The Super Sub rule was active at that time, which allowed India to swap Gautam Gambhir with Murali Kartik in the second innings.
All Indian bowlers remained wicketless as Graeme Smith's century helped South Africa chase down the 189-run target in 35.5 overs with all 10 wickets in hand. Smith scored an unbeaten 120-ball 134, hitting 20 fours and one six. Andrew Hall supported him with an unbeaten 94-ball 48, consisting of four fours.
Agarkar is the chief selector of the Indian cricket team now. RP Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik work as commentators. RP Singh and Harbhajan also play in leagues of retired cricketers.