Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) [India], March 16 : Indian cricketer Tilak Varma visited the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Temple located in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain district on Monday and offered prayers after India's recent victory in the T20 World Cup.
During his visit, the cricketer sought the blessings of Lord Mahakal and expressed gratitude for the team's success. He sat in the Nandi hall of the temple and was seen engrossed in deep devotion to Lord Mahakaleshwar.
After seeking the blessings, Verma expressed his happiness, stressing that he had prayed Baba Mahakal for India's victory ahead of the T20 World Cup and believed that Lord Mahakal blessed the team with success.
"It feels very good visiting here. I had prayed to Lord Mahakal for the victory of the T20 World cup, and Mahakal blessed us with victory. So, I came here to offer prayers," Tilak Varma told ANI.
He further said that the players would focus on hard work further, while the final outcome rests with God.
"We will continue to work hard as always. Whatever is in our hands is to put in the effort; the rest is in Mahakal's hands. Jai Shri Mahakal," he added.
India beat New Zealand by 96 runs to successfully defend their T20 World Cup title. The victory made India the first team to win the T20 World Cup on home soil, the first to win consecutive titles after their 2024 win, and the first to lift the trophy three times (2007, 2024, and 2026).
In the final, New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first. However, a record-breaking fifty from Abhishek Sharma (52 in 21 balls, with six fours and three sixes) and his 98-run stand with Samson made NZ regret the decision. Later, Samson stitched a century stand with Ishan Kishan (54 in 25 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) to take India past the 200-run mark in the 16th over. After a brief slowdown, Shivam Dube (26* in eight balls, with three fours and two sixes) made some valuable runs to take India to 255/5, the highest total in T20WC finals. James Neesham (3/46) was the leading wicket-taker for NZ.
In the run-chase of 256 runs, Axar and Bumrah helped India reduce the Kiwis to 72/5, despite a half-century from Tim Seifert (52 in 26 balls, with two fours and five sixes). India kept chipping in with wickets, and the Kiwis were bundled out for just 159 runs.
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