The Indian cricket team’s historic Test series triumph in Australia last month was recounted in the budget speech of finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who said it epitomises the country’s “unsuppressed thirst to succeed”.

The Indian team, ravaged by injuries to most of its key players and without regular skipper Virat Kohli, upstaged a full-strength Australia 2-1.

“I can’t help but recall the joy that we as a cricket-loving nation felt after Team India’s recent spectacular success in Australia,” Sitharaman said on Monday during her speech. “It has reminded us of all the qualities that we as a people, particularly our youth, epitomise, having abundant promise and the unsuppressed thirst to perform and to succeed.”

Her praise came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ address, appreciated the team’s lion-hearted effort.