Gwalior:Sachin Tendulkar Becomes First to Hit 200 in ODI History,  Sachin Tendulkar became the first man ever to score double hundred in one-dayers when he unlocked the game’s biggest and most awaited milestone versus South Africa at Gwalior on Wednesday.

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Tendulkar reached the historic landmark off just 147 deliveries, and having already treated the capacity crowd and millions of television viewers to 25 sublime hits to the fence and three mighty sixes, Tendulkar without taking the foot off the accelerator pedal throughout his saga.

This achievement came in the last over, and shortly after Tendulkar had achieved the highest ever score in one-dayers when, with a single to short-fine left, he overtook Saeed Anwar’s 13-year old record of 194 runs.

South Africa seemed to have got some respite when India lost the wicket of power-hitter Yusuf Pathan just when his partnership with Sachin Tendulkar was beginning to take threatening proportions for the visitors.

Pathan’s wicket in the 41st over came against the run of play to Roelf van der Merve and after India had already amassed 300 runs.

The run-fest for India at Gwalior continued as undeterred by Dinesh Karthik’s loss, Tendulkar continued his rich vein of form, after having raced away to 150 runs off just 118 balls.

Alongwith Pathan, Tendulkar compounded South Africa’s woes mercilessly with an 81 run-partnership for the third wicket off 47 balls.

Even after Pathan’s dismissal, Tendulkar maintained the pressure on South Africans and after 43 overs, India, at 322/3, looked on course for a massive total.

However, their hardly proved to be any relief for South Africa as Mahendra Singh Dhoni then continued from where Pathan had left and with a 29-ball half-century, knocked the stuffing out of the hapless visitors.

Karthik had earlier, missed out on a well-deserved hundred when he scooped out a tame catch to Gibbs at mid-wicket. Having played the perfect foil to an unstoppable Sachin Tendulkar during their second-wicket partnership that fetched 194 runs off just 177 balls, Karthik helped himself to a career best 79 runs, but fell just when his maiden one-day century seemed to be their for the taking.

Karthik lasted 85 balls during his stroke-filled stay that was punctuated with 4 boundaries and 3 sixes.

Gwalior was playing witness to a vintage Tendulkar, as the Master Blaster from Mumbai, continued to turn the heat on the South Africans in the second one-dayer of the three match series here on Wednesday.

Tendulkar, who is enduring a purple patch off late, in Tests as well as the ODIs, had smashed his 46th century of this format off just 90 balls, pulverizing the Proteas bowler ruthlessly into submission.

Despite losing his opening partner Virender Sehwag early, Tendulkar took it upon himself to provide the early momentum, plucking boundaries at will as India raced away to 176/1 after 28 overs.

While Karthik provided solidity to the partnership, Tendulkar was the plunderer.

Some of his shots, like a flick to a delivery from outside the off-stump, the ferocious pull s over mid-wicket, drives- lofted as well as grounded, were the stuff that gave ample proof of the genius Tendulkar was bestowed with, as he had raced away to his half-century off just 37 balls.

His ‘lofted on the up’ shot over mid-off was particularly reminiscent of the Tendulkar of yore.

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Karthik also helped himself to a solid half-century, his land-mark coming off 57 deliveries.

Earlier, after Dhoni had won the toss and elected to bat, India had not made the most auspicious of starts to the match losing Sehwag in just the fourth over with just 25 runs on the board.

Having hit 2 fours already, Sehwag, tried to slash over the point off Wayne Parnell, but failed to beat the third-man where Dale Steyn took a well-judged catch. Meanwhile, after Sehwag recovered from injury he sustained in the last match, India, lead 1-0 in the three-match series, retained the same side that played the last match at Jaipur where as South Africans made three changes in their squad.

J P Duminy, who has been out of form throughout the Test series, came into the side Bosman. Prolific scorer Hashim Amla and all-rounder Van der Merwe were also named in the final XI.

Teams

South Africa (Playing XI): Hashim Amla, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis(c), AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Alviro Petersen, Mark Boucher(w), Roelof van der Merwe, Wayne Parnell, Dale Steyn, Charl Langeveldt

India (Playing XI): Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni(w/c), Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Sreesanth

Zeecric Bureau

Gwalior: Sachin Tendulkar became the first man ever to score double hundred in one-dayers when he unlocked the game’s biggest and most awaited milestone versus South Africa at Gwalior on Wednesday.

Tendulkar reached the historic landmark off just 147 deliveries, and having already treated the capacity crowd and millions of television viewers to 25 sublime hits to the fence and three mighty sixes, Tendulkar without taking the foot off the accelerator pedal throughout his saga.

This achievement came in the last over, and shortly after Tendulkar had achieved the highest ever score in one-dayers when, with a single to short-fine left, he overtook Saeed Anwar’s 13-year old record of 194 runs.

South Africa seemed to have got some respite when India lost the wicket of power-hitter Yusuf Pathan just when his partnership with Sachin Tendulkar was beginning to take threatening proportions for the visitors.

Pathan’s wicket in the 41st over came against the run of play to Roelf van der Merve and after India had already amassed 300 runs.

The run-fest for India at Gwalior continued as undeterred by Dinesh Karthik’s loss, Tendulkar continued his rich vein of form, after having raced away to 150 runs off just 118 balls.

Alongwith Pathan, Tendulkar compounded South Africa’s woes mercilessly with an 81 run-partnership for the third wicket off 47 balls.

Even after Pathan’s dismissal, Tendulkar maintained the pressure on South Africans and after 43 overs, India, at 322/3, looked on course for a massive total.

However, their hardly proved to be any relief for South Africa as Mahendra Singh Dhoni then continued from where Pathan had left and with a 29-ball half-century, knocked the stuffing out of the hapless visitors.

Karthik had earlier, missed out on a well-deserved hundred when he scooped out a tame catch to Gibbs at mid-wicket. Having played the perfect foil to an unstoppable Sachin Tendulkar during their second-wicket partnership that fetched 194 runs off just 177 balls, Karthik helped himself to a career best 79 runs, but fell just when his maiden one-day century seemed to be their for the taking.

Karthik lasted 85 balls during his stroke-filled stay that was punctuated with 4 boundaries and 3 sixes.

Gwalior was playing witness to a vintage Tendulkar, as the Master Blaster from Mumbai, continued to turn the heat on the South Africans in the second one-dayer of the three match series here on Wednesday.

Tendulkar, who is enduring a purple patch off late, in Tests as well as the ODIs, had smashed his 46th century of this format off just 90 balls, pulverizing the Proteas bowler ruthlessly into submission.

Despite losing his opening partner Virender Sehwag early, Tendulkar took it upon himself to provide the early momentum, plucking boundaries at will as India raced away to 176/1 after 28 overs.

While Karthik provided solidity to the partnership, Tendulkar was the plunderer.

Some of his shots, like a flick to a delivery from outside the off-stump, the ferocious pull s over mid-wicket, drives- lofted as well as grounded, were the stuff that gave ample proof of the genius Tendulkar was bestowed with, as he had raced away to his half-century off just 37 balls.

His ‘lofted on the up’ shot over mid-off was particularly reminiscent of the Tendulkar of yore.

Karthik also helped himself to a solid half-century, his land-mark coming off 57 deliveries.

Earlier, after Dhoni had won the toss and elected to bat, India had not made the most auspicious of starts to the match losing Sehwag in just the fourth over with just 25 runs on the board.

Having hit 2 fours already, Sehwag, tried to slash over the point off Wayne Parnell, but failed to beat the third-man where Dale Steyn took a well-judged catch. Meanwhile, after Sehwag recovered from injury he sustained in the last match, India, lead 1-0 in the three-match series, retained the same side that played the last match at Jaipur where as South Africans made three changes in their squad.

J P Duminy, who has been out of form throughout the Test series, came into the side Bosman. Prolific scorer Hashim Amla and all-rounder Van der Merwe were also named in the final XI.

Teams

South Africa (Playing XI): Hashim Amla, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis(c), AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Alviro Petersen, Mark Boucher(w), Roelof van der Merwe, Wayne Parnell, Dale Steyn, Charl Langeveldt

India (Playing XI): Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni(w/c), Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Sreesanth

Australia’s veteran fast bowler Brett Lee is poised to quit Test cricket.
The injury-hit Lee, 33, would make an announcement this week, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The Herald, without citing sources, said Lee had been mulling retirement for some time but made his final decision after talking to Flintoff, who quit Tests last year to prolong his playing career. Lee, whose 310 Test scalps place him behind only Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Dennis Lillee on Australia’s all-time list, has not played a five-day match since December 2008 after suffering foot and elbow problems. The tall, blond-haired right-armer was named Wisden magazine’s Cricketer of the Year in 2006 and bowled a ball at 99.9 miles (160.8 kilometres) per hour in 2003, the second fastest recorded delivery behind Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar.
Lee has played 76 Tests since making his debut in 1999. He is hoping to play in India’s lucrative IPL Twenty20 league this season, the Herald said.

First Women’s title win came on July 23, 1984, where she defeated The Fabulous Moolah at the historic “The Brawl to End It All” that aired on MTV. The ladies drew huge ratings, becoming the most-watched program in the history of MTV. This was a huge part of the “Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Connection.” Wendi would later lose the title to Leilani Kai on February 18, 1985, and later regain it at the very first WrestleMania on March 31, 1985 in New York City. Her induction is even more historic due to the fact that she left the WWE on bad terms.On November 25, 1985, she lost the Women’s title to The Spider Lady (Fabulous Moolah), which is considered the “The Original Screwjob,” in which Vince McMahon and Wendi were in contractual dispute.The World Wrestling Council has a Women’s Championship that has been contested since May of 1987.
Their first ever champion was Wendi Richter. She defeated Monster Ripper in a tournament to become the first champion.
WWE announced former Woman’s Champion Wendi Richter as the third official member of the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2010.

First Women’s title win came on July 23, 1984, where she defeated The Fabulous Moolah at the historic “The Brawl to End It All” that aired on MTV. The ladies drew huge ratings, becoming the most-watched program in the history of MTV. This was a huge part of the “Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Connection.” Wendi would later lose the title to Leilani Kai on February 18, 1985, and later regain it at the very first WrestleMania on March 31, 1985 in New York City. Her induction is even more historic due to the fact that she left the WWE on bad terms.On November 25, 1985, she lost the Women’s title to The Spider Lady (Fabulous Moolah), which is considered the “The Original Screwjob,” in which Vince McMahon and Wendi were in contractual dispute.The World Wrestling Council has a Women’s Championship that has been contested since May of 1987.
Their first ever champion was Wendi Richter. She defeated Monster Ripper in a tournament to become the first champion.
WWE announced former Woman’s Champion Wendi Richter as the third official member of the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2010.

Randy Couture vs Mark Coleman fight video latest news updates :- Coleman vs Couture Fight Video. As UFC 109 will soon end, we’ll be posting the Couture vs Coleman Replay video here. It’s one of the most awaited matches in the history of UFC and I bet after the main event, a lot will look for the replay of Randy Couture vs Mark Coleman match. Some fans around the world have no time right now to watch it, that’s why they will expect a replay video of Couture vs Coleman.

Rest assured that we’ll be updating this post for the replay video of Couture vs Coleman. As of now, here are the results of UFC 109 fight cards.

UFC 109 Preliminary card
Heavyweight bout: Rolles Gracie vs. Joey Beltran – Beltran defeated Gracie via TKO at 1:31 of Round 2.
Heavyweight bout: Tim Hague vs. Chris Tuchscherer – Tuchscherer defeated Hague via majority decision
Light Heavyweight bout: Brian Stann vs. Phil Davis – Davis defeated Stann via unanimous decision.
Lightweight bout: Phillipe Nover vs. Rob Emerson – Emerson defeated Nover via unanimous decision.

UFC 109 Preliminary card (Spike TV)
Lightweight bout: Melvin Guillard vs. Ronnys Torres – Guillard defeated Torres via unanimous decision
Lightweight bout: Mac Danzig vs. Justin Buchholz – Danzig defeated Buchholz via unanimous decision

UFC 109 Main card
Welterweight bout: Matt Serra vs. Frank Trigg – Serra defeated Trigg via KO at 2:23 of round 1
Middleweight bout: Demian Maia vs. Dan Miller – Maia defeated Miller via unanimous decision
Welterweight bout: Mike Swick vs. Paulo Thiago – Thiago defeated Swick via technical submission (D’arce Choke) at 1:54 of round 2
Middleweight bout: Nate Marquardt vs. Chael Sonnen – Sonnen defeated Marquardt via unanimous decision
Light Heavyweight bout: Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman – Couture defeats Coleman via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:09 of round 2.

Massachusetts Senate Race Exit Polls, Here is your live viewing thread for the Scott Brown, Martha Coakley Massachusetts Senate election vote count. Exit polls and winner declared here on election day, Tuesday January 19th, 2010, as the candidates stump furiously on the final day of a short campaign. Watch the returns with us on our participatory live blog session.
massachusetts senate election exit polls

So much of this special election race has been written here and elsewhere. Scan our homepage for the bones of such punditry, from Brown’s sexy magazine centerfold to Coakley mistaking Curt Shilling for a Yankee fan. Now let’s get it on. What do the exit polls say about who won and what does it mean for other races?

The MA election result will be talked up as a bellwether event in the history of the 2010 midterm election. Like a canary in a coal mine, we will know a lot about where the two parties stand after the MA winner is declared by our elections desk. Is this the end of Obama’s agenda in Washington? Was socialism too much for the American people to swallow or will he press on like an ideological warrior? What if Çoakley wins?

Voting booths in Massachusetts open at 7am eastern time and close at 8pm local time, barring the usual shenanigans by partisan judges to keep certain friendly polling locations open later. We will follow all the days’ news live so join us today, January 19th for the final resolution of an interesting senate race betweenMartha Coakley and Scott Brown.

See the recent polls showing late deciders apparently breaking for Scott Brown.
You may predict the winner all the way up until polls close at 8pm Tuesday.

We will be bringing you MA exit polls data in this thread as we do in each election contest despite the mainstream media’s reluctance to share. Those other guys have a sanctimonious view of their role in filtering information to the public. Our goal is to trust our readers by interpreting data as soon as it is available.

Eventually a winner in the Massachusetts senate election will be declared and you can expect Right Pundits to declare that winner first before all of the mainstream media outlets make a fuss. They will keep you hanging for commercial break after commercial break until their advertising expectations are met. Only after their corporate requirements are discharged will they tell you who won. We, on the other hand, will cut out all the B.S. with a purified heart.

Recent polls show Scott Brown ahead of Coakley. There is no other way to spin it despite the liberal Daily Kos poll showing the race as a tossup. All the excitement is in the Brown camp. All the grass roots hooplah is there. All the press buzz. Barack Obama’s odd speech making fun of American-made pickup trucks will apparently not stem a populist uprising in the original tea party state. You can find a link to the MA polls in our upper left sidebar.

MA has always been a patriotic state which champions itself looking out for the little guy. This election cycle the Democrat party has confused such populism with support for a distasteful agenda in Washington, forgetting that Massachusetts once voted for Ronald Reagan in a similar bout of patriotism. Mainstream Democrats may not yet understand that under Obama’s agenda, the public believes that little guy interests are perhaps not served by an extreme liberal agenda.

For whatever reasons Scott Brown is now leading Martha Coakley. The upset of the century may be in the making which is why we will turn with great interest to Massachusetts exit polls as they are revealed. We should know the winner early based on trends in that exit poll data.

You can click the arrow to join the live blog. If you are early, bookmark the page and share any comments below in the usual places. Analysis of liveelection results for MA will begin at 12pm PT / 3pm ET, and continue past the time that our vaunted Right Pundits elections desk declares a winner.

Israel issued a second written apology to Turkey over its envoy’s treatment, bowing to Ankara’s ultimatum in a bid to defuse the latest spat over a TV show that marred ties between the two allies. Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon apologised to Turkish Ambassador Oguz Celikkol for giving him an angry dressing down in front of cameras to protest a Turkish television series portraying Mossad agents as baby snatchers.
Ankara, a key Muslim ally to Israel, was infuriated and demanded “an explanation and apology” after Ayalon on Tuesday made Celikkol sit on a low couch and removed the Turkish flag from the table at their meeting besides refusing to shake hands with the latter after the meeting concluded.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul threatened to recall the ambassador if there was no formal apology. However, ties had already been poisoned by Ankara’s severe criticism of Israel’s deadly offensive on Gaza last year and its persistent blockade of the Palestinian enclave.

PORT MORESBY : Around 40 people have died after two buses crashed head-on in one of impoverished Papua New Guinea’s worst ever road accidents.

The buses were travelling at speeds above 100 kilometres (60 miles) per hour and swerving to avoid potholes when they hit each other in a remote area of the South Pacific nation’s northeast.

Most of the victims were killed instantly while others died before they could receive treatment, with eight people in intensive care.

“It is one of the saddest days in the history of road accidents where we have such a number of commuters die at once,” local Assistant Police Commissioner Giossi Labi told Australian Associated Press.

Parliamentarian Koni Iguan said it was one of the most horrific smashes he had ever seen.

“This is the nastiest and bloodiest of accidents on the highway,” Iguan said.

Boxing Day History December 26th, Boxing Day takes place on December 26th or the following Monday if December 26 falls on a Saturday or Sunday.

Where did it come from?
Boxing Day began in England, in the middle of the nineteenth century, under Queen Victoria. Boxing Day, also known as St. Stephen’s Day, was a way for the upper class to give gifts of cash, or other goods, to those of the lower classes.

How is Boxing Day celebrated?
There seems to be two theories on the origin of Boxing Day and why it is celebrated. The first is that centuries ago, on the day after Christmas, members of the merchant class would give boxes containing food and fruit, clothing, and/or money to trades people and servants. The gifts were an expression of gratitude much like when people receive bonuses, from their employer, for a job well done, today. These gifts, given in boxes, gave the holiday it’s name, “Boxing Day”.

The second thought is that Boxing Day comes from the tradition of opening the alms boxes placed in churches over the Christmas season. The contents thereof which were distributed amongst the poor, by the clergy, the day after Christmas.

Today, Boxing Day is spent with family and friends with lots of food and sharing of friendship and love. Government buildings and small businesses are closed but the malls are open and filled with people exchanging gifts or buying reduced priced Christmas gifts, cards, and decorations.

To keep the tradition of Boxing Day alive, many businesses, organizations, and families donate their time, services, and money to aid Food Banks and provide gifts for the poor, or they may choose to help an individual family that is in need.

What a great extension of the Christmas holiday spirit. You might consider making this holiday a tradition in your family. No matter where you live the simple principle of giving to others less fortunate than yourself can be put into practice.

CAPE TOWN: Football World Focuses on 2010 Draw in Cape Town, The eyes of the football world focused on Cape Town on Friday, with fans of 32 competing nations hoping for a kind draw at next year’s World Cup.

Coaches, former football greats and celebrities were gathering for a draw ceremony to decide the eight groups of four teams.

Oscar-winning movie star Charlize Theron will help FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke in a lavish ceremony due to start at 7 p.m. local time (1700 GMT).

Defending champion Italy, five-time winner Brazil and European champion Spain will be looking to avoid the sort of draw that makes it tough to get through the group phase. Teams from New Zealand to Mexico, Chile to North Korea, Slovakia to host South Africa will hope those conducting the draw will give them a chance of a place in the knockout phase.

The 32 nations in the draw have been split geographically into four pots which will eventually produce eight groups of four teams.

South Africa, as host, has been given one of the seeded positions along with Italy, Brazil, Spain, England, Germany, Netherlands and Argentina.

“Expectations are very high and this is the start of the World Cup for me and the other coaches involved,” said South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who led his native Brazil to the 1994 title and has coached at three other World Cups. “I have been involved in World Cup draws before. As Brazil’s national coach, expectations were just as high but this one is extra special because we are the World Cup hosts.”

The other three South American teams — Paraguay, Chile and two-time World Cup winner Uruguay — are also in the same pool so they can’t meet in the first round. The same applies to the four Asian qualifiers, North Korea, South Korea, Japan and Australia. and Africa’s other qualifiers, Nigeria, Ghana, Algeria, Ivory Coast and Cameroon.

Cafu, who captained Brazil to the 2002 World Cup title, said Africans will have an edge at the tournament “because of playing on home territory and because of the supporters.”

Only two African teams have advanced as far as the World Cup quarterfinals, with Cameroon reaching that phase in 1990 and Senegal matching it in 2002.

The 13 European teams in the competition can’t avoid each other altogether, but there can’t be more than two in any group.

The second band of European teams — France, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Denmark, Switzerland, Greece and Serbia — are in the same pool. That has angered the French, who felt they should have been seeded after winning the title in 1998 and reaching the final four years ago.

Because France is in the European pot, there could be a repeat of the 2006 World Cup final in the group stage, with Italy possibly meeting the French.

With the draw ceremony for the June 11-July 11 championship taking place and hundreds of delegates and officials from around the world gathering in Cape Town, the bidding nations for the World Cups in 2018 and 2022 are also taking the opportunity to impress observers.

David Beckham is one of the leading figures backing England’s bid. But the 1966 hosts face opposition from the United States, Australia, Russia, Japan, Qatar, Indonesia, South Korea and joint bids from Spain-Portugal and Netherlands-Belgium.