The wee hours of 26th February witnessed the Indian Air Force (IAF) pulling off a brave operation that was carried out across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan. A group of 12 Mirage 2000 aircrafts carried out swift air strikes to eliminate multiple terror camps and launch pads. The Indian fighter jets dropped bombs weighing 1,000 kgs in a 21-minute operation that resulted in the elimination of the biggest terror camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Balakot.

India's retaliatory strike came in the wake of the dastardly suicide attack in Pulwama, that claimed the lives of more than 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel. Ever since the news of India's so-called 'surgical strike 2.0' surfaced, everyone has been saluting the IAF for successfully carrying out the brave operation.

#India struck biggest training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad in Balakot; a very large number of terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and fidayeenjihadis were eliminated: Sh Vijay Gokhale, Foreign Secretary pic.twitter.com/D8kk4gWfWI

While some hailed the Indian fighter pilots for avenging the Pulwama martyrs, others took immense pride in India's new approach of tackling fire by fire. Amid all the congratulatory messages, the sports fraternity wasn't far behind either. From Virender Sehwag to Saina Nehwal, the Indian sports fraternity was seen joining the chorus in lauding the IAF.

IAF's pre-dawn strike across the border also evoked a response from Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli, who will be seen leading his side against Australia in the 2nd T20I on 27th February. Taking to Facebook, Kohli shared a picture of himself alongside his teammates in what appears to be a training session. 

The Indian skipper captioned the image with the popular phrase: "How's the Josh?". The phrase comes from the Bollywood flick, 'Uri - The Surgical Strike' - a dramatised account of the Indian Army's retaliation to the 2016 Uri attack in the valley.

Going by the mood in the country, it wasn't hard to guess what Kohli was trying to say with his social media post. But, it was great to see the Indian captain drawing inspiration from the IAF to motivate himself and his team going into the second and final T20I - a must-win game that'll help the hosts in levelling the series.