Gwalior, Februaty 24
Sachin Tendulkar rewrote history today by smashing the first double century in ODI cricket as India crushed South Africa by 153 runs in the second one-dayer to clinch the three-match series with one game to spare. Tendulkar became the first batsman in the four-decade history of ODI to hammer a double century as India piled on a mammoth 401 for three and then skittled out South Africa for 248 in 42.5 overs for a facile win.

With this victory, India not only took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series and rendered Saturday's third and final match in Ahmadabad inconsequential but also ensured there was no threat to their status as the number two ODI side in the world. For them, Dinesh Karthik, M S Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan starred with the bat but the day belonged to Tendulkar.

Everything else paled in comparison to Tendulkar’s epic 147-ball blistering knock, studded with 25 fours and three sixes, as the master blaster treated the capacity crowd at the Captain Roop Singh stadium to a stunning exhibition of strokeplay. It was not only Tendulkar’s 46th ODI century but also the highest score in one-dayers, eclipsing the previous record of 194 which was held jointly by Pakistan's Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe’s Charles Conventry. Charl Langvedt went into the history books as Tendulkar steered the pacer to the off side to get to the magical figure as the packed stadium went into a frenzy. Tendulkar’s previous best was an unbeaten 186 against New Zealand made at Hyderabad in 1999.

South Africa’s mammoth chase looked doomed as Praveen Kumar cheaply castled swashbuckling opener Herschelle Gibbs in the third over. S Sreesanth removed Roelof van der Merwe with his fourth delivery and returned to see the back of in-form Hashim Amla. Ashish Nehra got the better of Jacques Kallis in his second spell and by the 23rd over, South Africa were gasping for breath at 134 for seven. AB de Villiers showed the kind of defiance not seen in his teammates as he hit his fifth ODI century. He added 77 runs with Wayne Parnell to delay the inevitable but South Africa's defeat was just a matter of time by then.

De Villier’s 101-ball knock had 13 fours and two sixes in it. It all, however, was reduced to a footnote. During his unforgettable knock, Tendulkar rattled up a record 194-run second-wicket partnership with Dinesh Karthik, who recorded his career best 79 off 85 balls . — PTI

Scoreboard
India
Sehwag c Steyn b Parnell 9 (11)
Tendulkar not out 200 (147)
Karthik c Gibbs b Parnell 79 (85)
Pathan c de Villiers b van der Merwe 36 (23)
Dhoni not out 68 (35)
Extras (lb 3, w 5, nb 1) 9
Total (3 wickets; 50 overs) 401
Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-219, 3-300.
Bowling: Steyn 10-0-89-0, Parnell 10-0-95-2, Van der Merwe 10-0-62-1, Langeveldt 10-0-70-0, Duminy 5-0-38-0, Kallis 5-0-44-0.

South Africa
Amla c Nehra b Sreesanth 34 (41)
Gibbs b Kumar 7 (12)
Van der Merwe c Raina b Sreesanth 12 (16)
Kallis b Nehra 11 (28)
De Villiers not out 114 (154)
Petersen b Jadeja 9 (18)
Duminy lbw b Pathan 0 (2)
Boucher lbw b Pathan 14 (29)
Parnell b Nehra 18 (53)
Steyn b Sreesanth 0 (6)
Langeveldt c Nehra b Jadeja 12 (24)
Extras (lb 5, w 8, nb 4) 17
Total (all out; 42.5 overs; 196 mins) 248
FoW: 1-17, 2-47, 3-61, 4-83, 5-102, 6-103, 7-134, 8-211, 9-216.
Bowling: Kumar 5-0-31-1,Nehra 8-0-60-2, Sreesanth 7-0-49-3, Jadeja 8.5-0-41-2, Pathan 9-1-37-2, Sehwag 5-0-25-0.

Sydney, February 24
One of the world’s most feared fast bowlers, Australian pacer Brett Lee today announced his retirement from Test cricket after battling numerous injury breakdowns in the last 14 months. Announcing his decision to walk into Test sunset at the SCG here, 33-year-old Lee, Australia’s fourth most successful bowler, said he was retiring from the longer format to concentrate on one-day internationals and Twenty20s and spend more time with his family.

“I am extremely proud to have played Test cricket for Australia. My reason for retiring from this form of the game is so that I can preserve my body and continue to represent my country in the other forms of the game,” Lee told a press conference here.

“This is not the end of me. It’s a cricket choice and it’s a lifestyle choice,” Lee, affectionately called ‘Binga’ by his team-mates, said. Lee said the highlight of his career was taking his first Test wicket in Melbourne against India in 1999 - when he clean bowled Sadagoppan Ramesh.

“I could’ve hung up the boots just then,” he said. Though calling time from Test cricket, Lee declared the five-day format as the pinnacle of the game and advised younger bowlers not to focus all their energy on the shorter versions. “Obviously, there’s specialist one-day and Twenty20 bowlers. But for me, Test cricket is where it’s at. There’s a lot of luck in Twenty 20, a lot of skill and a bit of luck in one-dayers. But Test cricket is a test for the bowlers and a test for the batsman,” Lee said.

The blonde speedster burst onto the Test scene in the summer of 1999, making his debut against India in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne where he took 5/47 in the first innings and finished with seven wickets in the match. A winner of the Allan Border medal for being Australia's best cricketer in 2008, Lee has 310 wickets under his belt from 76 Tests at an average of 30.81 since his debut. Lee has 324 ODI wikctes from 186 matches. — PTI

New Delhi, February 24
An India-Pakistan hockey clash meant an emotional roller-coaster and adrenaline rush once upon a time. But former players feel the charm has faded with the dwindling standard of the game in both the nations. The two sides will face off in a World Cup match for the first time since 1986 this Sunday and though the anticipation is there, former players say it’s nothing compared to the fan frenzy they were witness to in their playing days.

New Delhi, February 24
International Hockey Federation (FIH) communication manager Arjen Meijer asserted here today that the FIH was ready with the accreditation process for the Hero Hondia FIH World Cup Hockey Championship by December-January, but the delay occurred due to the road-block created by some Indian agencies. He refused to elaborate whether the security agencies, the Sports Authority of India or the Sports Ministry were responsible for the delays.

“But things were put on hold for one pretext or another”, he said. Earlier, at a function, Meijer was a cornered man as the media boycotted him and refused to listen to him, as they blamed the FIH for the delay in giving accreditation cards to journalists, and barring them access to the practice sessions of the teams at the National Stadium.

Meijer later promised that he would try to expedite the distribution of the media cards by tomorrow.

Meijer said this was the biggest World Cup Hockey Championship and 1300 journalists had applied for accreditation, including 200 to 300 foreign journalists, though only 350 media persons could be accommodated at the National Stadium. The media protest had its desired effect as the FIH arranged interaction with representatives of some of the foreign teams at the team hotel.

At the interaction, Eighteen-year-old Florian Fuchs of Germany, the babe of the 12th edition of the World Cup, said the defending champions were looking ahead at the prospect of recording a hattrick of titles wins. (Germany had won the title for the first time in 2002, and repeated the feat at home in 2006).

He said the team were well prepared as they had some matches against Australia and Spain before landing inDelhi. “We have a young, ambitious team", he noted. Putting his team’s prospects at a reasonable level, Fuchs said: “We hope to be in the semis. Then anything can happen”. He rated Australia as a “very strong and fabulous team”.

“They have so many players who are very strong, solid. It’s not easy to play them. They are strong in offence and defence, as well”, said the baby-faced player, who would, perhaps be the youngest player in the World Cup, after he made his debut for Germany in November last year.

Patiala, February 24
‘Where there is will there is way.’ It’s probably the most common saying learnt by everyone in childhood but rarely understood, especially in the field of sports, when each day we hear players and coaches complaining about one thing or the other.

It definitely doesn’t mean that these complaints are uncalled for but there are times when one has to move on trying to find an alternative. Archer Gagandeep Kaur is definitely one such dreamer.

After continuous hardwork, she has finally won the honour of being the first female archer from Punjab to win two international medals during compound round in the 1st Asian Grand Prix Championship-2010 that was held at Kuala Lampur recently.

She won overall silver in the individual ranking and in the team event. With this, Gagandeep has not only made her state and country proud but has also raised the hopes of other Punjab archers.

Talking about her achievement, Gagandeep says it was a tough journey but well rewarded. “Competing against top international archers like Jhanu Hansda and Bhagyawati Chanu and making a place in the Indian squad is like a dream come true. This gives me immense pleasure and all the more — a sense of responsibility.” She is currently attending the Commonwealth Games Camp at NIS, Kolkata.

“I belong to a middle class family and cannot afford expensive equipment. The bow I am using right now has been issued by my university for which I am thankful to my coach and the director. But what after I finish with my,” she adds.

Gagandeep is now pinning hopes on the state government for fulfilling her dreams. She says, “I need good equipment. My game mates get financial help from their respective governments. Also, they all have all been given good jobs as soon as they won the medal. I expect the same from my government because once a person is financially settled, only then he can focus in one direction.”