Smriti Mandhana Recalls MS Dhoni's WhatsApp Message After Historic World Cup Win

A Historic Triumph and a Special Message

Following the Indian women's cricket team's maiden ODI World Cup victory in November 2025, cricketer Smriti Mandhana shared that former India captain MS Dhoni reached out to congratulate the squad. Speaking publicly at an event alongside Dhoni, Mandhana recounted receiving a WhatsApp message from the legendary former skipper, noting that the gesture felt particularly significant given Dhoni's well-known preference for staying away from his phone.

"He actually did send me a message after the World Cup win. I know he does not use his phone a lot. I was very happy that he used WhatsApp to congratulate all of us," Mandhana stated during the interaction.

Why Smriti Mandhana Received the Message

When event host Harsha Bhogle asked Mandhana if she had saved Dhoni's number, she confirmed that she did. Dhoni subsequently provided context regarding why he chose to message Mandhana directly out of the entire squad. According to Dhoni, Mandhana was the only player from the women's national team whose contact details he had saved at the time.

Dhoni explained, "I did not know anyone else's number from the team. I wanted the message to go through. We had just shot a commercial before that. I thought, 'Let me send a message to Smriti' and I mentioned, 'Please wish everyone who is part of the team.'"

Recap of the 2025 World Cup Final

• Match Date: November 2, 2025
• Result: India defeated South Africa by 52 runs
• Venue: Navi Mumbai
• Key Batting Performances: Shafali Verma scored 87 runs, and Deepti Sharma added 58 runs to help India post a total of 298/7.
• Key Bowling Performance: Deepti Sharma claimed five wickets, restricting South Africa to 246 runs despite a century from Laura Wolvaardt.

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