A good weekend. Well, almost!

Hey everyone,


It's the perfect 6 for Team India! :

As it turned out, the weekend was indeed a roller coaster ride. Team India were tested while chasing a decent total. But after a hint of a batting collapse, the middle order steadied the ship. And boy! Didn't they do a great job. The chase looked up in the air at one point to me. But Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni scripted a solid fightback and eventually sealed the win; and in doing so preserved our clean record in the group stage in the ongoing WC. It may not have come against a tough bowling attack, but the manner in which that was constructed without any real panic at any stage from the two batsmen was really admirable. I was mighty pleased with our spirit and the effort which is really crucial going ahead into the knock out stages, where the opposition this time, Bangladesh, cannot be taken lightly. And we do have an account to settle with them, after all. And that means #WeWontGiveItBack !

Barca come through their test and Xavi's 750:

Coming to the La Liga fixture between FC Barcelona and Eibar, the result was just what the Doctor ordered. Barca beat Eibar 2-0, with both the goals coming from Leo Messi. It maintained Barca's lead in the championship and gave Barca a chance to build on it in less than a week's time from now. The highlight of the game was indeed Xavi Hernandez's coming on to play in the 2nd half of the match to mark his 750th game in the Barca shirt. Leo Messi immediately handed him the Captain's armband and Xavi's presence really killed off the game for Barca. Xavi was very composed on the ball despite the added attention he was receiving on this day and controlled the game brilliantly from the middle of the pitch besides making a couple of interceptions to hand Barca the possession of the ball. I'd have preferred to see him get an assist or even score a goal himself (he had a shot on target blocked by the Eibar defence late in the game),  but this was the typical Xavi performance with authority and control. I do want Xavi to keep playing for Barca since I cannot imagine seeing him in any other jersey. And Xavi is completely Barca from head to toe. Long live Xavi.

Kimi ran out of luckat Melbourne GP :

And the five red lights did go out at the Albert Park circuit, Melbourne on Sunday to mark the beginning of the brand new 2015 Formula 1 season. Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen proved that their form in the pre-season testing wasn't just smoke by qualifying well for the race. But in the race, Kimi, after a really good start, was squeezed for space and his Ferrari was hit a couple of times by other drivers which damaged the car. Nevertheless Kimi, despite losing places on the track and a botched pit stop after his first stint, fought for the podium with a string of Fastest Laps  in the  middle stint and got within 3 Seconds of the 4th placed car. But all his efforts were wasted after more problems during his 2nd pit stop and he was forced to retire from the race. In the end Sebastian Vettel finished on the podium for Ferrari in his debut GP with team to bring some cheer.  Ferrari only got half of what they deserved from the Grand Prix because of Kimi's unfortunate and forced retirement from the race. Hopefully such issues don't happen and Kimi get's to show his full potential in his SF15-T over the rest of the season.

Thanks for reading & cheers! Do come back again! - yps05