Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday once again heaped praises on the Indian men’s cricket team for their historic 2-1 win in the recently-concluded Test series against Australia, saying that the Ajinkya Rahane-led team’s hard work and teamwork is inspiring.

“This month, we got good news from the cricket pitch. After initial hiccups, the Indian team bounced back strongly and won the Test series in Australia. Our team’s hard work and teamwork was inspiring,” Modi said during his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on their part, has expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister for his appreciation and tweeted: “Thank you Shri Narendra Modi for your appreciation and words of encouragement. Team India will do everything possible to keep the Tricolour flying high.”

Earlier this month, India became the first team to conquer The Gabba in 33 years as they beat Australia by three wickets in the final Test and won the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series 2-1 despite losing the first Test embarrassingly.

Chasing 328, India achieved the target with three overs remaining on Day 5. Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant shone with the bat for visitors on the weary Brisbane wicket against the star-studded Australian bowling attack.

If Pant ensured India’s completion of the chase by remaining unbeaten on 89, opener Gill’s innings of 91 was the kickstart India needed.

Pujara with his marathon 211-ball knock of 56 runs was the steadying force that held India’s fort from end, eventually guiding the tourists towards history.

Earlier, addressing the 18th Convocation of Tezpur University in Assam, Modi had on January 22 said the Team India’s victory is highly inspirational for the youth of the country.

“Indian team faced a lot of challenges in the recent tour of Australia. They suffered crushing defeat yet recovered equally fast and won the next match. The players showed determination despite injuries. They took the challenge head on and looked for fresh solutions instead of getting frustrated by difficult conditions,” Modi had said.

“There were inexperienced players but their morale was high and they grabbed the opportunity given to them. They overpowered a better team with their talent and temperament,” he added.