Ravi Shastri, former India head coach, just can’t help himself when it comes to entertaining a crowd. At the toss for the first ODI between India and South Africa in Ranchi, he brought up MS Dhoni’s name, and you could almost hear the smiles from the stands.
“We’re in Jharkhand, right here in Ranchi, home to the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni. And this is where India and South Africa kick off their ODI series, right in the heart of Dhoni-land,” Shastri said. Fans who know Dhoni’s roots in the city definitely loved that one.
Dhoni-land or India, the toss is just the start; it’s the winning spirit of our players that makes us proud. Let’s show what real Indian cricket is all about! pic.twitter.com/IruWH5uyBK
— Nut Boult (@NutBoult) November 30, 2025
As for the toss, South Africa’s stand-in captain Aiden Markram won it and decided they’d field first. Temba Bavuma and Keshav Maharaj are sitting this one out for South Africa.
Also Read: India vs South Africa Live Cricket Score and Updates, 1st ODI Scorecard in Ranchi
On the Indian side, Shubman Gill’s missing, so Rohit Sharma will open with Yashasvi Jaiswal. India’s going with three spinners and three pacers, a balanced attack.
Here’s how the teams line up:
India: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul (captain & wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna.
South Africa: Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Aiden Markram (captain), Matthew Breetzke, Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Prenelan Subrayen, Nandre Burger, Ottneil Baartman.
When Ravi Shastri blasted MS Dhoni
Ravi Shastri brought some fun to the toss in Ranchi, throwing in a clever nod to MS Dhoni before the India–South Africa 1st ODI. Aiden Markram won the toss and chose to field, and both teams made some big changes—India left out Shubman Gill, while South Africa rested Bavuma and Maharaj.
Then there’s R Sridhar, India’s former fielding coach, who just released his book ‘Coaching Beyond: My Days with the Indian Cricket Team.’
It’s packed with behind-the-scenes stories, sharp insights, and a few eye-opening revelations, all giving fans a real look inside the Indian camp. One story stands out.
Sridhar remembers the time in 2018 when head coach Ravi Shastri was furious with MS Dhoni’s slow batting during an ODI series in England.
Sridhar talks about that match and the loss. Shastri didn’t care much about the scoreline or the result. What got to him was how Dhoni approached the chase.
After Joe Root hammered 113 and pulled off his famous ‘bat-drop,’ India needed 323 to win. For a while, they were in the hun Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina put together an 80-run stand. But then both of them fell within five overs, and Hardik Pandya got out for just 21. Suddenly, Dhoni was left with the tailenders. India still needed 133 runs from 66 balls.
“We were still in it when Virat and Raina were at the crease. But after the wickets started falling, MS only had the bowlers with him for the last 10 overs. Oddly enough, he just shut shop. Even though we needed nearly 13 runs an over, we only managed about 20 runs in the next six overs. That was actually the innings where MS crossed 10,000 ODI runs, a huge milestone. We were all happy for him, but at the same time, we couldn’t help but ask why he didn’t even try to go for the win,” Sridhar wrote.
