Watch: “I did have his number” – Smriti Mandhana reveals MS Dhoni’s WhatsApp message after Women’s World Cup win

Mahendra Singh Dhoni surprised Smriti Mandhana with a personal WhatsApp message after India won their maiden ICC Women’s ODI World Cup title in 2025. The former India captain congratulated the team through Mandhana, asking her to pass on his wishes to the players after their historic victory against South Africa.

The heartwarming moment came to light when Smriti Mandhana revealed MS Dhoni’s WhatsApp message during a promotional event featuring the former India captain. Mandhana admitted she was delighted to hear from Dhoni, especially because he is known for using his phone very little. Her simple response, “I did have his number,” also led to a funny exchange with presenter Harsha Bhogle.

Watch Smriti Mandhana reveal MS Dhoni's WhatsApp message video here—

 What did Smriti Mandhana say about MS Dhoni’s WhatsApp message?

Mandhana revealed that Dhoni had contacted her after India’s Women’s World Cup triumph. She explained that she was happy to receive the message because she knew the former India captain was not someone who spent much time on his phone. The Smriti Mandhana Dhoni WhatsApp message quickly became a heartwarming talking point among cricket fans.

During the conversation, presenter Harsha Bhogle playfully asked Mandhana, “You saved the number?” She replied, “I did have his number.” The exchange brought a light moment to the discussion and highlighted the respect Mandhana has for one of Indian cricket’s most celebrated captains. The Smriti Mandhana “I did have his number” remark also made the interaction memorable.

For Dhoni, the win meant much more than a trophy. “It (the World Cup triumph) is a big thing. It changes how Indian women’s cricket moves forward. Not only the fact that you have brought a big trophy for the country. It’s the fact that these girls, they paved the way for future ladies and how they would look at cricket and treat it as a profession,” he said. He added, “I feel that was a big day for Indian cricket.”

See Also: Watch: Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana skip handshake after India’s 3-0 series win vs Zimbabwe

India’s maiden Women’s World Cup win: How Smriti Mandhana and Team India made history

On November 2, 2025, the Indian women’s team won their maiden ICC Women’s ODI World Cup title in front of a home crowd at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Harmanpreet Kaur’s side beat South Africa by 52 runs in the final. The win ended a 47-year wait and followed heartbreaking losses in the 2005 and 2017 finals.

The road to the title was not easy. India lost three matches in a row in the group stage, against Australia, England and South Africa. The turning point came in the semi-final, when India chased down 339 against the reigning world champions Australia, the highest successful run chase in women's ODI history at the time. Jemimah Rodrigues made an unbeaten 127 and Kaur scored 89.

See Also: List of top 10 highest team scores for India women in ODI history

Mandhana played a big part in the campaign. She became the first woman to score 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year and shared a record 212-run opening stand with Pratika Rawal against New Zealand. In the final, India made 298/7. Shafali Verma scored 87 off 78 balls and was named Player of the Match, Mandhana made 45 and Deepti Sharma added 58. Laura Wolvaardt scored 101 for South Africa, but they were bowled out for 246 in 45.3 overs. Deepti took 5/39 and was named Player of the Tournament, becoming the first player to score over 200 runs and take more than 20 wickets in a single World Cup.