New Delhi, Mar 21 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison for the "excellent performance" of the Australian women's cricket team in the ongoing ICC World Cup.

Modi and Morrison held a virtual summit during which they deliberated on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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"Many congratulations to you for the excellent performance of the Australian women's cricket team in the Cricket World Cup. In Saturday's match, Australia won, but the tournament is not yet over," Modi said in his opening remarks.

"My best wishes to the teams of both the countries," the Prime Minister added.

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India suffered a six-wicket loss to Australia in a crucial match of the tournament in Auckland on Saturday.

Prime Minister Modi also thanked Morrison for returning a number of ancient Indian artefacts.

Twenty-nine antiquities, including on the themes of Lord Shiva and his disciples, Lord Vishnu and the Jain tradition, have been repatriated to India by Australia

"I would like to especially thank you for taking the initiative to return ancient Indian artefacts. And the artefacts that you have sent include hundreds of years old idols and paintings illegally smuggled from Rajasthan, West Bengal, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh as well as many other Indian states," Modi said.

"And for this, I express special gratitude to you on behalf of all Indians. Now all the idols and other things that you have given us back will be returned to their original place. On behalf of all Indian citizens, I once again express my heartfelt gratitude to you for this initiative," he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)