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Virat Kohli visited the Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple after India’s series win. Watch the sacred rituals and special darshan.

Indian cricketer Virat Kohli, his family members, all-rounder Washington Sundar, and others offered prayers at the Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple here on Sunday, an official of the temple body said.

Team India defeated South Africa by nine wickets, sealing the series 2-1 with a dominant win in the final match at the Andhra Cricket Association-Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association (ACA–VDCA) Stadium in Visakhapatnam on December 6.

Temple officials received Kohli and his family and escorted them for darshan. They first took part in the traditional Kappasthambham Alinganam (embracing the sacred pillar) ritual before proceeding to the deity’s darshan.

“Kohli visited the temple along with his family members and Team India representatives,” the official told PTI, adding that scholars later chanted Veda Ashirvachanam to the sound of Nadaswaram after the darshan.

Later, priests honoured the visitors with the temple’s Shesha Vasthram (sacred cloth) and presented them with the deity’s portrait and prasadam on behalf of the Devasthanam.

Kohli after winning the Player of the Series award

Indian batting mainstay Virat Kohli on Saturday said he is “feeling really free” mentally after producing another match-winning effort to help India clinch the three-match ODI series, in which he finished as the leading run-scorer with 302 runs.

“Honestly, playing the way I have in the series is the most satisfying thing for me. I feel really free in my mind. I haven’t played like this in 2-3 years,” Kohli told the broadcaster after the match.

“I know when I can bat like that in the middle, it helps the team a long way. Makes me confident, any situation in the middle, I can handle that and bring it in favour of the team,” he added.

Kohli said self-doubt is inevitable for a batter, irrespective of experience, but felt it helps in overall improvement.

“When you play for that long — 15-16 years — you do doubt yourself. Especially as a batter when one mistake can get you out. It’s a whole journey of getting better and getting better as a person along the way. It improves you as a person and it improves temperament as well,” he said.

In this series, India’s star opener Yashasvi Jaiswal scored his maiden ODI century in the third match against South Africa, reaching the milestone in 111 balls. With this, Jaiswal became the sixth Indian batsman to score centuries in all three formats of international cricket.

( Inputs From PTI )