MS Dhoni with wife Sakshi during India vs England T20 World Cup semi-final.© X/Twitter
India are into their fourth T20 World Cup final. On Sunday, New Zealand stand in the way of Suryakumar Yadav. In the semi-finals, India clung on to beat England by seven runs in a thrilling T20 World Cup semi-final in Mumbai on Thursday, despite Jacob Bethell‘s superb 105. After Sanju Samson‘s scintillating 89 laid the platform for India to pile up a massive 253-7, England fell just short in what would have been a record chase, finishing on 246-7.
Seeing the match proceedings from the stands was MS Dhoni – captain of India’s first T20 World Cup win in 2007. He stayed calm throughout. In fact, during the latter overs when England were putting pressure, Dhoni’s wife Sakshi was ecstatic when she thought India had taken a wicket. Dhoni was amused and just told her: “Baith Jao (Sit down)”.
Yesterday’s best moment of the match!
Sakshi thought it was out and started celebrating, but Thala Dhoni calmed her down and told her it wasn’t out. pic.twitter.com/Br8ZuSBq3k
— ` (@WorshipDhoni) March 6, 2026
Sanju Samson was named the Player of the Match as India secured a 7-wicket win in the match. After hitting a match-winning, unbeaten 97 runs off 50 balls, to help India defeat the West Indies and reach the 2026 T20 World Cup semi-finals, Samson followed this up with another stunning 89 runs against England in the semifinal as India became the first team to enter the T20 World Cup final as defending champions.
“I did not miss two centuries. I have made 97 and 89 – it is a very big thing,” Samson said of his back-to-back match-winning innings during the post-match presser.
Samson will play his first World Cup final on Sunday against New Zealand in Ahmedabad, which the wicketkeeper batter called “one of the best moments” of his life.
“It means one of the best moments in my life. I’m very grateful for that. I have been playing this format for a very long time. I played around 300 or 400 T20s (328). I played from one to six (in the batting order). I have captained the (IPL) franchise (Rajasthan Royals). So I have the experience of knowing what does a team demand at the moment and what is my exact role in this XI. So that clarity definitely helps you to score runs the way you want to,” he said.
With IANS Inputs