[WATCH] MS Dhoni marks attendance at Wankhede to cheer for India in T20 World Cup semi-final

Legendary cricketer MS Dhoni marked his attendance at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, for the India versus England semi-final of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 on Thursday, March 05. The former India wicketkeeper-batter, who led the Men in Blue to victory in the tournament's inaugural 2007 edition, was spotted cheering for the Suryakumar Yadav-led side from the stands. His wife, Sakshi Dhoni, was also present alongside to extend the support.

Alongside Dhoni was former India captain and 2024 T20 World Cup-winning captain Rohit Sharma as well. Notably, Rohit is also the brand ambassador for the ongoing twenty-team tournament and is only the second captain after Dhoni to win multiple ICC titles. 

Check the video of MS Dhoni watching the IND vs ENG semi-final here:

Celebrities galore at Wankhede

Apart from the veteran cricketers, members from the Indian film industry also came in to extend their support for the Men in Blue. The most notable attendees from Bollywood include Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Anil Kapoor, and Abhishek Bachchan. Nita Ambani, the co-owner of IPL team Mumbai Indians who is also key managerial personnel at Reliance Industries Limited, was also seated with other family members.

India post thumping total on board

The support seemed to have worked wonders for the Indian side, as they posted a record total of 253 for the loss of seven wickets in the first innings. The orchestrator with the bat was Sanju Samson, who hit a magnificent 89 off 42, whereas Ishan Kishan (39 off 18) and Shivam Dube (43 off 25) also had important contributions. The finishing touch was added by Hardik Pandya (27 off 12) for a breathtaking cameo towards the fag end of the innings.

Now its about executing our plans with the ball: Ishan Kishan

With the Three Lions needing 254 runs to win the contest, the onus will now be upon the Indian bowlers to keep things tight. Kishan is confident of the total that his team has put on the board, and has also shown a lot of faith in their bowling unit to defend the mammoth target against the Harry Brook-led side.

"When I went in, Sanju got boundaries. Pitch looked flat. Knew we needed a good total. Had to get momentum going. He batted in a way that left me little to do. We have to bowl well on this pitch. The plan was clear - if the ball is there, go for it. You have to believe in your strength, now it's about executing plans with ball. Every player would agree that crowd cheering gives us confidence, we'll try to give our best," Kishan said after the innings.

Notably, the winner of this semi-final will be qualifying for the grand finale, where they will be up against New Zealand in the title contest at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, March 08.