India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has won this year's ICC People's Choice Award 2013

MUMBAI: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has won this year's ICC People's Choice Award, thus becoming only the second Indian cricketer to win the coveted prize after just-retired Sachin Tendulkar.

Dhoni has now become only the third cricketer to win this award after Tendulkar, who was the first-ever recipient in 2010, and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, who won it in 2011 and 2012.

Other nominees for this year's ICC People's Choice Award were Australia's Michael Clarke, England's Alastair Cook, India's Virat Kohli, and South Africa's AB de Villiers.

BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel received the award from Howard Lee, Director Home Entertainment, LG Electronics India Pvt Ltd, on behalf of Dhoni, who is currently in South Africa with the India cricket team.

The award, which was introduced at the 2010 ICC Awards in Bengaluru, was voted upon by close to 188,000 cricket fans around the world. The voting opened on November 2 and closed at midnight on November 23, an ICC statement said.

The short list was nominated by an elite panel of cricket experts, which is headed by ICC Cricket Committee Chairman and former India captain Anil Kumble. Other members of the panel are England's Alec Stewart, New Zealand's Catherine Campbell, Pakistan's Waqar Younis and South Africa's Graeme Pollock.

The five players were nominated by the panel using the criteria set out by LG and the ICC.

This dictated that the nominees should have displayed some of the attributes regarded by LG as being in line with its corporate qualities such as innovation, dynamism, strength in decision-making, performing well under pressure and executing a plan to distinction, the statement read.

On winning the People's Choice award, Dhoni said: "This is one of the awards that has given me tremendous satisfaction, since it comes from the key stakeholders of the game - the fans.

"Recognition from the people who support and encourage us day in and day out, only inspires me to put in that much more, and go the extra mile for them. I would like to thank all those people who have voted in my favour," he added.

Cristiano Ronaldo to open museum

Lisbon:  Footballing legend Cristiano Ronaldo said on Tuesday he is opening a museum dedicated to himself on the Portuguese island where he was born.

The 28-year-old Real Madrid player will use the museum to showcase memorabilia from his hugely successful career, which began in the 1990s on the island of Madeira.

Ronaldo said he would be there in person on December 15 for the opening of the museum in Madeira's capital Funchal, which will showcase memorabilia including footballs, photographs and trophies.

He was speaking in Madeira, where he had travelled with his mother and young son, Cristiano Ronaldo Jr, to finalise plans for the opening.

One of the world's footballing greats, Ronaldo began his career with the small tourist island's local club FC Andorinha, where his father worked.

He moved to Lisbon aged 12 and was picked up by Sporting Portugal, launching his international career when he signed with Manchester United at the age of just 18.

Asked by local media in Madeira about his chances of picking up the Ballon D'Or 2013, which he is tipped to win, he would only say that a space has been reserved in case of success.

Ronaldo took the Ballon D'Or in 2008, but has since lost out three times to his arch-rival, the Argentinian Lionel Messi.

Sachin Tendulkar on Gold Toss coin

The specially-designed gold coin for toss in Sachin's 200th and last Test. (BCCI)

Hope Sachin sign off on high-Rahul Dravid

MUMBAI: There is perhaps no one who can claim to have spent more time with Sachin Tendulkar on the cricket field. Having shared numerous partnerships with him in the middle, having seen him bat since the maestro was 15, Rahul Dravid, a batting colossus himself, sure knows the legend and his game inside-out. "What he has accomplished is difficult to replicate," Dravid said at a promotional event in the city on Monday.

"He has never let his standard come down. His love for cricket has been consistent from the age of 16 to even now at 40. I would like that he does well in his last two Tests and signs off with a good performance. I hope he enjoys both these games. He has worked hard for so many years now, so he deserves a good farewell," Dravid felt. "I just want to wish him all the best and say 'thank you' for all that he has done for Indian cricket for the last 24 years," Dravid added.

Would he come to the Wankhede Stadium to watch his final match for India? "I hope to be there. I hope to do some media work around that time," he said.

Dravid felt that while it was impossible to replace a batsman of Tendulkar's class in the Indian team, there are talented batsmen around who can help fill that void to some extent. "There are some good young talented players around. What Virat has been able to do in one-day cricket and Test cricket is quite exceptional. I think India's one-day batting is good as I have ever seen it. Our top six-seven are just sensational," he said.

Dravid has sympathy for Indian bowlers who have disappointed during the on-going ODI series against Australia. "It's been a tough series for the bowlers. It's hard to blame them. I won't be too critical of our bowlers. They are young and inexperienced. With all these field restrictions coming in, it's not easy to be a bowler. What needs to be an acceptable bowling performance for them probably needs to be re-assessed."

AC Milan defender Philippe Mexes gets four-game ban for punching

Rome:  AC Milan central defender Philippe Mexeswas banned for four games on Monday after punching Juventus' Giorgio Chiellini in a Serie A clash in Italy's Turin city on Sunday.

The Rossoneri centre-back's violence went unnoticed by the match officials, but was captured by TV, according to which the Italian football authorities decided to hand him a retrospective four game suspension.

Chiellini had complained about Mexes' assault and demanded that he be punished.

It means the French international will miss the games against Udinese, Parma, Lazio and Fiorentina.

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

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.

Sunil Gavaskar says, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid my best students

New Delhi:  Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar hailed Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid's contribution to Indian and international cricket. He however told NDTV that choosing the better player is impossible.

Both Tendulkar and Dravid played their final T20 match on Sunday in the Champions League T20 title clash. They may have been playing the match for opposite teams but Gavaskar said their combination for India has been phenomenal. "Both are my absolute favourites. I would not even dare to take sides because it's like the left and the right hand and you need both your hands to perform. And they themselves agree - Rahul at three, Sachin at four have saved India so many times," he said. "The two have fed off each other and have been wonderful," he added. Dravid and Tendulkar hold the record for most number of century partnerships - 20 - in Tests.Dravid, in particular, did get Gavaskar's special accolade for his leadership skills. Leading his team through the Indian Premier League spot-fixing controversy was a brave and successful endeavor, he said. "If you look at how he rallied the team after what happened in May, to be able to build the confidence among each other in the dressing room is a huge thing."Gavaskar further said that he feels Dravid will be an able cricket administrator, moving forward. "Because he is such a great one for preparation, I think somebody like him would be fantastic as far as administration is concerned. He would certainly bring a lot of thought into it and that's what every administration needs," he said.