'deepawali begins': amit shah hails virat kohli's explosive performance against pakistan

Following India's five-wicket win over Pakistan, Union Home Minister Amit Shah lauded star batter, Virat Kohli, for his match-winning knock in T20 World Cup at Melbourne. Calling his

performance a "cracking innings", the leader praised the right-handed batsman for his thrilling performance and dubbed it a 'perfect way to start the T20 World Cup.' 

"A perfect way to start the T20 World Cup...Deepawali begins. What a cracking innings by @imVkohli. Congratulations to the entire team," tweeted Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took to the microblogging site and congratulated the Men in Blue for a well-deserved win. Like HM Shah, he too gave a special mention to former Indian

skipper Virat Kohli, who guided the side to a historic victory from the jaws of defeat. "The India team bags a well-fought victory! Congratulations on an outstanding performance today.

A special mention to Virat Kohli for a spectacular innings in which he demonstrated remarkable tenacity. Best wishes for the games ahead," PM Modi wrote on Twitter. Meanwhile, Union

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh termed the team's performance at Australia's Melbourne a phenomenal effort and applauded Kohli for his fine innings. "A phenomenal effort by

Team India against Pakistan in Melbourne today. Virat Kohli played one of the finest innings of his life! This incredible victory has delighted all Indian cricket fans around the world.

Congratulations to Team India on this spectacular victory," read the Union Defence Minister's tweet. After guiding India to a sensational victory, Virat Kohli said, "It's

a surreal atmosphere, I have no words, no idea how that happened. I am really lost for words. Hardik (Pandya) believed we can do it if we stayed till the end. When Shaheen (Afridi) bowled

from the pavilion end, that's when we decided to take him down. Haris (Rauf) is their prime bowler, and I hit those two sixes. The calculation was simple. Nawaz had one over to bowl, so

if I could take Haris down, they would panic." While elaborating on how they turned the tie in their favour, Kohli added, "From 28 in 8, it came down to 16 to 6. I tried to stick

to my instincts. The first one was the back of a hand-slower ball (the one over long-on). Standing here I just feel like it was meant to be. Till today Mohali was my best innings against

Australia. Today I will count this one higher. Hardik kept pushing me. The crowd has been phenomenal. You guys (fans) kept backing me and I am grateful for your support."