CLT20: Sachin Tendulkar first Indian to reach 50,000 runs in all formats

Sachin becomes the 16th player ever to reach this landmark in the sport and is the first player from Asia to do so.

In Mumbai Indians' semi-final against Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday, Sachin Tendulkar reached another landmark by completing an astounding 50,000 runs in competitive cricket across all formats.

Needing 26 runs on the day to reach the mark, Tendulkar tucked the ball towards midwicket for a single off left-arm spinner Yannick Ottley to reach another milestone in a glorious career spanning close to two-and-a-half decades.

He scored 35 off 31 balls before being dismissed by Lendl Simmons.

Tendulkar now has 50009 runs in 953 competitive matches, which includes 551 List A matches, 307 First-class matches and 95 T20 games.

Tendulkar has so far scored 25,228 runs in 307 First-class matches, including a staggering 15,837 runs in 198 Tests.

The 40-year-old has 21,999 runs in 551 List A matches which includes 18,426 runs in 463 ODIs.

Having scored 2747 in the 94 earlier T20 matches, the Master Blaster scored the necessary 26 runs with ease.

Tendulkar has had an ordinary 2013 CLT20 tournament till the semifinals and could score only 20 runs in four matches with a highest score of only 15. (Mumbai beat Trinidad, enter final)

Sachin is also standing on the cusp of another rare feat of becoming the first player in the history of the game to play 200 Test matches, which in all likelihood will be completed in the upcoming two-Test series against the West Indies.

Yuvraj Singh, Manisha Koirala bat for cancer awareness in Kolkata

The Bollywood actress and the aggressive left-handed batsman spoke about the traumatic moment when they came to know of their affliction, followed by agonising and tough treatment process, but finally - the victory over cancer.

Kolkata:  In a joint effort to raise awareness about cancer, Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala and Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh Tuesday evening pepped up millions of people affected with the ailment, asserting "If we can, you can".

Rejecting the notion "cancer has no answer", both Koirala and Yuvraj Singh valiantly fought and overcame the life-threatening cancer.

The Bollywood actress and the aggressive left-handed batsman spoke about the traumatic moment when they came to know of their affliction, followed by agonising and tough treatment process, but finally - the victory over cancer.

Having gone through it all, both have decided to spread awareness about the disease.

"No matter at what stage the disease is detected, you have to pick up the pieces yourself and fight back. I tell people 'If Yuve can, you can',", said Yuvraj Singh during a lively interaction programme, "Pratigya, Cancer Myths and Reality", organised at a five-star hotel here.

Manisha, who dislikes the term "cancer survivor" as it sounds "meek", called herself a "cancer crusader".

"A crusader has the attitude which gives you strength, because that is what you need when you are fighting a disease, which may be cancer or some other thing."

"There is a stigma that cancer means death. No, it is not so. I know lot of people who got cancer, got treatment and are fine. Let us crusade against any kind of challenges," said the actress.

Cancer patients, doctors, leading Bengali film stars, singers, fashion designers, sportsmen, socialites - in short, the creme de la creme of the city attended the programme that aimed to raise awareness about cancer.

The audience listened to the duo in rapt attention, breaking out in spontaneous applause now and then.

Yuvraj acknowledged they had now become role models for cancer patients. "We both are symbols of hope and courage."

On his comeback into the Indian team, he said: "It is the passion to come back. If you have the passion, you can come back. This is the reason I am back. Hopefully, I can play a few more years for the country".

The strength to fight against the disease comes from within, your family, friends and well-wishers, said the cricketer.

Yuvraj exuded confidence that Manisha would also make a comeback, but cautioned her against hurrying.

"The media should not hound her about her comeback schedule," he added.

The star-cricketer said, early detection was the key to fight back the disease.

Manisha Koirala, who gave a motivational speech, helped by audio-visual props like slides, her pictures as a child, a young girl, an actress and as a cancer patient, said: "The disease has taught me what all that is important in my life. I want to tell people how fragile life is. We should value our life, our health."

She stressed on leading a healthy life and eating organic food.

Leading Bengali film actress Rituparna Sengupta, whose organisation "Bhavna Aaj or Kaal" tied up with corporate affairs expert Subroto Mukherjee's "Illusions" for the show, said: "We all have our professional lives, but beyond that we have some duty. We need to do our bit for the society."