Assocham flags being hoisted in front of Dhoni’s house in Ranchi on Thursday. (Prashant Mitra); (above) a file picture of Dhoni and wife Sakshi

Calcutta, March 31: Mamma, we have won ...

When Mrs MSD finally found a moment of privacy to call her mother, it was 2.30am on Thursday. But this was one post-midnight call the Singhs of Alipore, didn’t mind waking up to after a tense evening spent watching son-in-law Mahi surmount the Mohali hurdle to reach Mumbai.

The phone hasn’t stopped ringing since at the south-west Calcutta address of 10B Burdwan Road, where Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s parents-in-law R.K. and Sheila Singh had been leading a relatively quiet life till Wednesday night, far from the frenzy surrounding their son-in-law.

So while the spotlight is suddenly back on the Singhs on the eve of the final, they are being careful not to distract Dhoni from Mission World Cup.

According to a source close to the family, the couple haven’t even made a congratulatory call to their son-in-law since the emotion-charged victory over Pakistan.

“They don’t want to disturb him; so they have only sent him a congratulatory message. But the perfect son-in-law that he is, Mahi did thank them for the text,” he said.

Daughter Sakshi had visited her parents along with her husband in February to seek their blessings for the World Cup. On Wednesday, mother Sheila added a dose of the divine to her blessings.

“She was constantly praying during the match. She had visited a temple in south Calcutta last week, before the India-Australia quarterfinal. She made a second visit this morning, after India’s victory over Pakistan,” the source said.

But weren’t there moments during Wednesday’s match when Sheila’s faith wavered?

“The Singhs were glued to the television screen till 11pm and keeping their fingers crossed, literally and figuratively. After eight hours of thrill and tension, Sheila’s fingers were aching,” the source revealed.

The Singhs have received several invitations to watch the final at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday but have turned all of them down. “They were in Bangalore for the match against England that ended in a tie, but have stayed away from the action since,” the friend said.

So come Saturday afternoon, the Singhs will be home at Sundaram Apartments, seated on their favourite couch in front of the television and hoping to see their son-in-law become the first Indian captain since Kapil Dev to lift the trophy that matters.

But Cup or no Cup, one thing is always guaranteed for jamaibabu Mahi at 10B Burdwan Road — a morsel and more of his favourite Calcutta biryani. nSee Page 19