Tendulkar first to reach 2,000

Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar Wednesday became the first batsman to score 2,000 World Cup runs, reaching the mark by hitting three consecutive fours in front of legions of fans in New Delhi.

Tendulkar opened the batting with Virender Sehwag at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, and they put on 69 for the first wicket in reply to the Netherlands' total of 189 before Sehwag was out for 39.

Tendulkar was dismissed for 27 off 22 balls, caught near the long-off boundary by Bradley Kruger off the bowling of Pieter Seelaar.

The 37-year-old, playing his 40th match at his sixth World Cup, made his bow at cricket's showpiece tournament in 1992.

Before Wednesday's match he had hit five centuries and 13 fifties in World Cups. The next player on the list is Australian skipper Ricky Ponting, who has 1,577 runs in 42 matches. AFP