Southampton: The Indian cricket team on Saturday wore black armbands on the second day of the World Test Championship final against New Zealand as a mark of respect to 'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh, who passed away after a month-long battle due to COVID-19 related complications.

Top Indian players, including skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri, had already posted their condolence messages on Twitter and the entire Indian team on the day wore the arm band as a mark of respect for the departed soul.

This is one of the rare occasions when Indian cricket team wore black armbands for a legend of Olympic sports.

"The Indian Cricket Team is wearing black armbands in remembrance of Milkha Singhji, who passed away due to COVID-19," the BCCI media cell posted a message.

Earlier, skipper Kohli paid his tribute to the legendary Olympian, who died on Friday.

"A legacy that inspired a whole nation to aim for excellence. To never give up and chase your dreams. Rest in Peace MilkhaSingh ji. You will never be forgotten," Kohli tweeted.

Head coach Shastri, on his part, wrote, "India's greatest Olympics runner. Shook the world in 60s with his competitive spirit inspite of the most limited facilities. He took the word determination and will to compete to another level. Respect. God bless your soul. Condolences to JeevMilkhaSingh & family.

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New Delhi (PTI): Customs officers at the Indira Gandhi International Airport have busted two separate gold smuggling attempts, seizing a total of over 3.17 kilograms of gold worth about Rs 4.35 crore and arresting three foreign nationals, officials said on Monday.

In the first instance, Customs registered a case of smuggling on February 26 against a 39-year-old Chadian woman who arrived from Addis Ababa a day before, an official statement said.

Acting on specific profiling and surveillance, officers intercepted the passenger for a detailed examination.

During the search, gold articles of high purity weighing 1,843 grams were recovered from her baggage. The seized gold was assessed at a tariff value of Rs 2.37 crore, officials said.

The passenger admitted that the gold had been smuggled into India without payment of duty, officials said, adding that the recovery was made after she confessed the concealment was done "to evade Customs detection and payment of applicable duty".

The gold was seized under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962, and the woman was placed under arrest under Section 104 of the Act for her alleged role in smuggling.

In a separate incident, Airport Customs Preventive officers booked two Myanmar nationals in a gold smuggling case on February 23. The duo had arrived from Yangon, another statement said.

The passengers were intercepted while crossing the green channel at the international arrival hall of Terminal-3.

On thorough personal search and baggage examination, the two men admitted that they had concealed gold bars inside their rectum.

"Further, four gold bars were ejected by each of the passengers," the Customs statement said, adding that eight rectangular gold bars were recovered.

The total net weight of the recovered gold was 1,329 grams, which was appraised at a tariff value of Rs 1.98 crore.

Both passengers were arrested under Section 104 of the Customs Act, 1962 for their involvement in the offence of smuggling, officials added.