Bhubaneswar: Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma has praised Sudarsan Pattnaik, Internationally acclaimed sand artist from Odisha, for his sand art at Puri sea beach through which he congratulated her and Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli for their marriage.

"This is so beautiful. We are both grateful, thank you," Anushka tweeted in response to the sand art.

Bearing the message "Congratulations Virat & Anushka", the sand art features a bat with a film around it depicting the profession of the two. It also bears image of the couple amid roses.

Notably, Kohli and Sharma sealed their relationship with wedding in Italy on December 11 amidst close family and friends.

Anushka and Virat, both 29, set tongues wagging about their wedding when they were seen leaving the Mumbai and Delhi airport respectively with their family members last week. All of them maintained a stoic silence, keeping the secrecy about the much-anticipated union intact.

Virat has been fairly open about how Anushka's presence in his life has brought in positive changes in him, but the actress has preferred to keep her private life private. The rumours about their wedding had gathered steam when Virat asked for rest during the ODI and T20Is against Sri Lanka. He will join the team for the South Africa series which starts from December 30.

But before that, the couple will be hosting a reception in New Delhi for their relatives on December 21, followed by a reception for industry friends and cricketers in Mumbai on December 26.

They will be shifting to their new residence in Worli, Mumbai in December once they return from Delhi.

The couple will then travel to South Africa where Virat will start prepping for the upcoming series and Anushka will spend New Year's Eve with him, read a statement from the actress' representative. She will return in the first week of January to begin the next schedule of Aanand L. Rai's film with Shah Rukh in Mumbai. She will also start prepping for "Sui Dhaaga" as the shooting for the same starts in February 2018 with Varun Dhawan.

(With IANS inputs)