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.