Mumbai: With over 35,000 fans cheering, screaming and jumping up and down to celebrate every boundary scored by the Indian batters against England, the Wankhede Stadium looked like an overflowing cauldron on Thursday as it hosted the second semifinal of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
A venue that has seen India script history by winning its second ODI World Cup in 2011 and a momentous occasion like Sachin Tendulkar’s last Test match, the stadium was bubbling with excitement as the Indian batters blazed boundaries against the English bowlers.
Sanju Samson was greeted with a big cheer, and the wicketkeeper-batter did not disappoint the faithful fans with a brilliant display of power-hitting. The fans enjoyed all of his shots, and as India crossed each milestone to post a massive score, the excitement kept growing to a crescendo as the Indian innings progressed.
Though it was hushed into silence when an Indian wicket fell, the crowd was back on its feet as the Indian batters displayed their boundary-hitting prowess soon after. The crowd enjoyed the sixes struck by Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya as India posted a 253/7 in their 20 overs, the second 200-plus total in a T20 WC knockout, after West Indies’ 205/4 vs Australia in the 2012 semis at Colombo RPS.
With many celebrities, including Bollywood star Anil Kapoor and former cricketers — former captains Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni among them — in the stands, the fans had a gala time.
Dhoni was seen enjoying the game from the VVIP box along with his wife, Sakshi, while Rohit was also seen sharing a hug with the veteran Chennai Super Kings cricketer. Notably, Rohit was accompanied by his wife, Ritika Sajdeh.
Bollywood celebrities in attendance at the iconic venue for the crucial knockout fixture are veteran Anil Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Tripti Dimri, Ranbir Kapoor, and his wife and actress Alia Bhatt, along with their kid Raha, were among those spotted in the stands. Sitting next to KL Rahul was his brother-in-law, actor Ahaan Shetty.
(IANS)
