Vivian Richards praises India's first win in 71 years against Australia

Congratulatory messages continued to pour in a day after India's historic Test series victory on Australian soil with legendary batsman Sir Vivian Richards labelling the visitor's performance as "magnificent". India won the four-match series 2-1 after the Sydney Test ended in a rain-forced draw on Monday, their first ever Test series triumph on Australian soil.

"Let me take this opportunity to congratulate Virat and his team for such a magnificent performance Down Under. It was always going to be tough, but you guys came out smelling sweet," Richards said in a video message. The 66-year-old West Indian also lavished praise on Player of the Series, Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored 521 runs at an average of 74 with the help of three hundred.

"And to Pujara just magnificent batsmanship... I just felt real gold stuff. Well done to everyone. Magnificent performance again. Congratulations to the Indian team and to my good mate Ravi did again."

(With inputs from agencies.)