Sports
Messi delighted to be back to his best with brace
Barcelona: Football superstar Lionel Messi announced his comeback loud and clear as the Argentine celebrated his first start since suffering a knee problem two months ago with two goals in FC Barcelona’s 6-1 rout of AS Roma in the Champions League.
Messi had played the last half hour of Barcelona’s 4-0 humiliation of Real Madrid in La Liga on Saturday, but this time he was on the pitch from the start, linking with fellow strikers Neymar and Luis Suarez and scoring with impunity on Tuesday, reports Xinhua.
It was as if he had never been away, although speaking to the press after the game, Messi admitted it was a moment he had been looking forward to.
“The injury was taking a long time to recover from and I was looking forward to feeling this way again and getting back into action,” he said on Tuesday.
“I am feeling good and coming back bit by bit, now it is a question of playing minutes of football and regaining confidence,” said Messi, who nevertheless admitted Barcelona had performed well during his absence.
“I was also able to enjoy watching them from the stands,” he said.
Barcelona have hit a purple patch of form and are playing their best football of the season, as made clear by the results against Roma and Real Madrid.
“We are doing things very well, but there is a long way to go. Now we have very important games ahead of us, such as the World Club Championship (in December), I hope we can keep it up,” said the striker, whose words were reflected by coach Luis Enrique.
“In a sport like this, there are always things you can improve, we are in a good moment and we have to hold on to that… but the best is still to come,” he warned.
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.