[Watch] MS Dhoni watches and subtly applauds India's Chandrayaan 3 landing on the Moon

A video of MS Dhoni subtly applauding Chandrayaan 3's successful soft landing on the Moon on Sunday has gone viral on social media. In it, the former India captain can be seen standing in a tank t-shirt and shorts in front of a TV screen showing the news of the landing and clapping his thigh in celebration.

Launched on July 14, 2023, Chandrayaan 3 is India's third lunar exploration mission, built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It touched down at 18:02 IST on Wednesday, making India the first country to successfully land a spacecraft near the lunar south pole and the fourth to soft-land on the Moon.

Here's the video:

Earlier in the day, a video of his daughter Ziva jumping and clapping in celebration of the Chandrayaan landing had also surfaced online.

The Indian cricket team, in Ireland currently for a three-match T20I series, also watched and celebrated the event together.

I just hope and pray India plays 2023 World Cup like MS Dhoni: Sanjay Manjrekar

Recently, speaking ahead of the 2023 Asia Cup, former India international Sanjay Manjrekar expressed hope that India would take inspiration from Dhoni's philosophies in big, knockout matches in 2023.

“For India, in the ICC events, it’s not about getting through to semis," Manjrekar said on Star Sports/ESPN Cricinfo’s ‘Selection Day Live’ program. "India’s problem has been the big night. I just hope and pray, with the kind of talent that they have, that they just play like Mahendra Singh Dhoni used to play a semi-final or a World Cup final, like it was any other game. That’s the only challenge for India considering their record in the big tournaments,” he added.

The Chennai Super Kings leader is in rehab after undergoing knee surgery following IPL 2022.