PM Narendra Modi Congratulates Team India for Lord's Triumph
An ardent follower of Indian sports, Narendra Modi wished the national cricket team after its historic Test win against England at Lord's.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the national cricket team for beating England by 94 runs on Monday. The side registered its first Test win at Lord's since 1986 - an end to a wait of 28 years.
Modi - a keen follower of sports - took to Twitter to wish the team. "Well played Team India! Congrats on the wonderful victory at Lord's. We are very delighted & proud of the great performance," he wrote on the micro-blogging site. With over 5.1 million followers, his message received close to five thousand retweets as an entire nation joined to celebrate a historic moment in Indian cricket. (England skipper Alastair Cook struggles to accept defeat)
Well played Team India! Congrats on the wonderful victory at Lord's. We are very delighted & proud of the great performance.ÂÂ
- Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 21, 2014
India played confident cricket and the youngsters in the side - led by Ishant Sharma's career-best 7/74 - rattled England in their most formidable bastion. It was a performance which deserved kudos from each and every fan - including Modi. (In pics: How India had a 'party' after Lord's triumph)
Modi - who is fourth in the list of most followed public figures according to reports - has repeatedly stressed on the development of sports in the country. While he is learnt to follow cricket, Modi has a keen interest in almost every other sport and has previously said that sportspersons are the pride of the nation.
And he is hardly the only political leader who takes active interest.
The FIFA World Cup was a superb example of how world leaders support their national teams. So while German chancellor Angela Merkel cheered her team to the title, even US president Barack Obama took time off and watched his team play, on board Air Force One. (Read more here)