WORLD'S HIGHEST RUNS SCORED IN CRICKET

An Indian schoolboy has smashed one of cricket’s oldest records, with the highest run total ever seen in an organised game.

Pranav Dhanawade, a 15-year-old student of KC Gandhi School, became the first ever batsman to reach 1000 runs, hitting the whopping total in just 323 balls. Dhanawade had reached the unbelievable score of 1009 not out in the Bhandari Trophy match against Arya Gurukul School in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Even then, the sheer numbers make for mind-boggling reading. Dhanawade, the son of an autorickshaw driver, faced just 323 deliveries. The relatively smaller dimensions of the ground — the straight boundary being the longest at 60 yards — perhaps contributed to the 129 fours and 59 sixes hit by Dhanawade, and the strike rate of 312.38. On two occasions, windows from a nearby building were smashed.

Just after Dhanawade surpassed the milestone late on the second day of the match, his side declared with an immense 1465 first innings total, with the 15-year-old finishing on 1009 not out.

The young cricket sensation’s innings included 59 sixes and 129 fours. The figures of the opposition bowlers made for nightmare reading.

Dhanawade surpassed the previous world record for an individual score midway through his innings, hammering past English schoolboy Arthur Collins’ 1899 record of 628. The 15-year-old had already reached the all-time record at the close of the first day, having hit 82 fours and 42 sixes to give himself a total of 652 not out.

WORLD'S HIGHEST SCORING ODI PARTERNERSHIP

The highest-scoring batting partnership in a one-day international is 331, by Sachin Tendulkar ( 186 not out ) and Rahul Dravid ( 153 ) for India v New Zealand at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad, India, on 8 November 1999. They scored in the second wicket. The one day international match was against New Zealand, in the season of 1999.

The second highest batting partnership in a one-day international (318 runs) is also held by Rahul Dravid along with Saurav Ganguly.

WORLD'S HIGHEST GOLF COURSE

Situated at a height at of 13,025 from the sea level, Yak Golf Course in Kupup in East Sikkim do features in Guinness Book of World Records as the Highest Golf Course in the World on 10 October, 2006.

The 'Yak Golf Course' was started on 19 Sep 1972 at Kupup East Sikkim, India. The spot is very close to Jelep-La, a high mountain pass to China, which is part of the ancient Silk Route. The course was re-designed in 1979 by Brig JM Singh, Cdr 164 Mtn Bde and since then it has been developed into one of the finest by Avid Golf Lovers. As on date under the guidance of Brig Ranbir Singh, Cdr 63 Mtn Bde and Col T K Murali, Dy Cdr 63 Mtn Bde the course is been redesigned and expanded to 18 holes. The first tournament held was the Saragarhi Cup on 09 Sep 1979.

The Yak Golf Course managed by the Indian Army is Affiliated to the Indian Golfers Union since 1992. Our IGU Membership No is 0245 (E). The course is open to golfers round the year subject to snow conditions. However, it is generally playable from May to Dec. The course has challenging fairways meandering across mountain streams in their full flow and teasing browns which test the golfing skills of one and all. A golfer unless acclimatized to these majestic heights needs to move slowly on the course. At this high altitude YAKS are used as golf carts to carry players - especially the older players to avoid high altitude sickness.

The club is open seven days a week, round the year subject to snow conditions. During winter, the golf course remains active with ‘Ice Hockey’, ‘Ice Skating’ and ‘Skiing’ being the main attractions. Besides these there is a Croquet Course and facility to play Baseball within the club. The Golf Course is spread over 4,978 yards with 18 holes on 18 browns and numerous bunkers. The fairways are lush green with natural streams and ponds as hazards, which makes the game interesting and challenging. Due to the natural lay of the ground, preferred lie is permitted to avoid damage to the clubs as well as to complete the course within the given score of 72.

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/3000/highest-golf-course

WORLD'S HIGHEST ATM

Nathu-La, the centuries-old mountain pass on the Silk Route, has now a modern-day landmark added to it: the world’s highest ATM counter at 14,300 ft in Kupup. It was opened on 6th April 2007.

Union Bank of India, which beat other banks some years ago, setting up an ATM on the Indian Navy’s INS Vikrant, the first on a warship, launched the Nathu-La facility on Friday, beating Axis Bank, which is a private bank, which has its counter in Thegu in the same area but at 13, 200 ft.

Meant primarily for army personnel along the Sino-India border, the ATM will also service tourists. Inaugurating the setup, Union Bank MD cum chairman M.V. Nair said, “The area remains snow-bound for much of the year. Our attempt is to provide facilities of instant banking to our soldiers as also to thousands of tourists who flock here everyday”.

“This counter will help us a lot,” Colonel Sanjay, commanding officer of then Indian army’s Nathu-La battalion said.
The ATM, however, will function only during daytime and would receive power supply from a generator. Care has been taken to make sure it functions even in subzero temperatures.

WORLD'S HIGHEST MOTORABLE ROAD

Khardung La (elevation 5602 m or 18 380 ft)in India’s Ladakh, in the state of Jammu & Kashmir is known as the world’s highest motorable mountain pass.

The pass on the Ladakh Range lies north of Leh and is the gateway to the Shyok and Nubra valleys. The Siachen Glacier lies partway up the latter valley. Built in 1976, it was opened to motor vehicles in 1988 and has since seen many automobile, motorbike and mountain biking expeditions. Maintained by the Border Roads Organisation, the pass is strategically important to India as it is used to carry essential supplies to the Siachen. Khardong La is historically important as it lies on the major caravan route from Leh to Kashgar in Chinese Central Asia. About 10,000 horses and camels used to take the route annually, and a small population of Bactrian camels can still be seen at Hundar, in the area north of the pass, mute witnesses to history. The camels can be hired for ride by tourists.

Khardung La is situated 37 km by road from Leh. The first 24 km, as far as the South Pullu check point, are paved. From there to the North Pullu check point about 15 km beyond the pass the roadway is primarily loose rock, dirt, and occasional rivulets of snow melt. However, this pass is in better repair than many of the surrounding passes (Tanglang La, for example). From North Pullu into the Nubra Valley, the road is very well maintained (except in a very few places where washouts or falling rock occur). Hired vehicles (2 and 4-wheel-drive), heavy trucks, and motorcycles regularly travel into the Nubra Valley, though special permits may need to be arranged for travellers to make the journey.

WORLD'S HIGHEST VIDEO CONFERENCING STUDIO

Among the rarefied air at the stupendous height of  13890 ft, but still not out of touch! The world's highest Vsat based video-conferencing studio is at Nyoma in Leh district of Kashmir, India, at an altitude of 13890 ft (exact location and altitude verified from Google Earth). It is located at 33 degree North 78 degree East. The Vsat based video-conferencing studio was established by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). The video conferencing studio has three DAMA Vsats - One at the SDM Office Nyoma, One at the DC Office, Leh and the third at the Hill Council Secretariat, Leh. It can accommodate 50 people. It was inaugurated in January 2002.

Nyoma is the one of the block headquarters of district Leh. This whole area is a cold and arid high altitude desert having 100mm average rainfall. In summer maximum temperature goes up to 30 Degree Centigrade and in winter minimum upto –40 degree centigrade. Humidity 6 to 24 %, Solar radiation 6 to 7 Kwh/mm with 300 days of clear sky and sunshine.

WORLD'S HIGHEST BATTLEGROUND

The Siachen glacier is the highest battleground on earth, where India and Pakistan have fought intermittently since April 13, 1984. Both countries maintain permanent military personnel in the region at a height of over 6,000 metres (20,000 ft). The site is a prime example of mountain warfare.

The Siachen Glacier, which stretches across Ladakh and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, lies south of the great watershed that separates China from the Indian subcontinent in the extensively glaciated portion of the Karakoram. It is located in the eastern Karakoram range (actually between Saltoro Ridge and Karakoram Range) in the Himalaya Mountains along the disputed India-Pakistan border at approximately 35°30'N 77°00'E . It is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and second longest in the world's non-polar areas. It ranges from an altitude of 5,753 m (18,875 ft) above sea level at its source at Indira Col (pass) on the China border to its snout at 3,620 m (11,875 ft).

The glacier's melting waters are the main source of the Nubra River, which drains into the Shyok River. The Shyok in turn joins the Indus River, thus the glacier is a major source of the river Indus. Global warming has had one of its worst impacts here in the Himalayas with the glaciers melting at an unprecedented rate and monsoon rains now appearing north of the mountains. The volume of the glacier has been reduced by 35 percent over the last twenty years and military activity since 1984 has also been blamed for much of the degradation of the glacier.

Both sides have been wishing to disengage from the costly military outposts but after the Kargil War in 1999, India has backed off from withdrawing in Siachen, wary that the Kargil scenario could play out again if they vacate their Siachen Glacier posts without any official confirmation of their positions.

During her tenure as Prime Minister of Pakistan, Ms Benazir Bhutto, visited the area west of Gyong La, making her the first premier from either side to get to the Siachen region. On June 12, 2005, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the area, calling for a peaceful resolution of the problem. The President of India, Abdul Kalam became the first head of state to visit the area.

WORLD'S HIGHEST CRICKET GROUND

The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters (7,500 feet) above sea level. The ground itself is located three km from the village of Chail. The Maharaja of Patiala Bhupinder Singh was a cricket enthusiast and had a vast stretch of land flattened in the Himalayan terrain for cricket. The Maharaja used to play friendly matches with the Britishers.

History says that in 1891, Maharaj Bhupinder Singh of Patiala incurred the wrath of Lord Kitchener. It led to the restriction of his entry into the summer capital of India, Shimla. This incensed the Maharaja and he vowed to build a new summer capital for himself. So he rebuilt the place (Chail) as per his requirements.

For many years, the cricket ground merited a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records. Though the record has not been broken, Guinness Book has decided to delete the documentation because no competitive cricket is being conducted there. Today, local youth use the venue for inter-school matches and units of the Indian Army located nearby hold their sports meets and march-pasts. The sprawling grounds are well-kept with manicured lawns. The cricket ground, and also the whole village of Chail is surrounded by the forests of Chir Pine and giant Deodars trees.

Despite its unique location, Chail cricket ground is today starved of first class matches. Since long no international cricket have been played there. However many world class players of India still come to practice there and HP cricket association has plans so as to bring international cricket to Chail soon.
You can enjoy an amazing view of Sutlej Valley, Shimla and Kasauli at night from here. On the other side of the town are situated the massive Himalayan ranges spectacularly gleaming in the sun and snow- covered every thing under it.

Local youth believe that the ground despite so much neglect can still be restored. It can also promote tourism in the region. They want the ground to be properly developed as a cricket ground.

Himachal Pradesh government is also interested in building a cricket stadium at this highest ground. "This cricket ground is under the possession of the Army. We are planning to request them to hand over the land to us for the purpose of making a stadium. Whether it is Chail''s cricket ground or Anne Dale Ground at Shimla, we are ready to give a compensatory land to the army people. We will speak to the State Cricket Association and will make good cricket stadiums at Chail and Shimla," said Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.

See the bird's eye view from Wikimapia here.

WORLD'S WETTEST PLACE

Meghalaya enjoys the distinction of having two of the world's wettest places: Cherrapunji and Mawsynram. These two places are only 16 kilometres apart.
Cherrapunji (also spelled as Cherrapunjee), is located at 25.30° N 91.70° E. It has an average elevation of 1484 metres (4872 feet). It is a town in East Khasi Hills district in the Indian state of Meghalaya. It holds the world records of being the wettest place on Earth.
Mawsynram is located at 25º 18' N, 91º 35' E in the state of Meghalaya. Its altitude is about 1400 m. It is about 16 km west of Cherrapunji.
Cherrapunji's current yearly rainfall average stands at 11,430 mm (450 in). This figure places it behind only nearby Mawsynram, Meghalaya, whose average is 11,873 mm (467 in) and Mount Waialeale on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, whose average is 11,684 mm (460 in).
Cherrapunji holds two Guinness world records:
* For receiving the maximum amount of rainfall in a single year: 22,987 mm (904.9 inches) of rainfall between August 1860 and July 1861
* For receiving the maximum amount of rainfall in a single month: 9299.96 mm (366.14 inches) in July 1861.
But these records are carried forward from an era almost 150 years back. Compare these figures with the present situation of 11,873 mm (467 in) at Mawsynram and 11,430 mm (450 in) at Cherrapunji. Thus we see that the wettest places are drying up.
Cherrapunji sits on the southern tip of a plateau that looms over Bangladesh. The cliffs of Cherrapunji are the first place hit by the moisture filled clouds that forms over the Bay of Bengal. All the rain lands on arid, deforested, ground. As there is no reservoir to store the rain water, it rapidly runs down the hill towards the plains of Bangladesh, forming massive waterfalls such as the Seven sisters and Nokalikai. Cherrapunjee receives rains from the Bay of Bengal arm of the Indian Summer Monsoon. The monsoon clouds fly unhindered over the plains of Bangladesh for about 400 km. Thereafter, they hit Khasi hills which abruptly erupt out of the plains to reach a height of about 1370 m within a short distance of 2 to 5 km. The orography of the hills with many deep valleys channels the low flying (150-300 m) moisture laden clouds from a wide area to converge over Cherrapunjee which falls in the middle of the path of this stream. The winds push the rain clouds through these gorges and up the steep slopes. The rapid ascendance of the clouds into the upper atmosphere hastens the cooling and helps vapours to condense. Most of Cherrapunjee's rain is the consequence of air being lifted as a large body of water vapour. Extremely large amount of rainfall at Cherrapunjee is perhaps the most well known feature of orographic rain in northeast India.

FIRST MAN ON WORLD'S HIGHEST PEAK

Sherpa Tenzing Norgay of Darjeeling, India, along with Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand became the first human being to set foot on the coveted peak of Mount Everest (8843.4 metres or 29029 feet), the highest peak on earth.

No one knew if the top of Everest could ever be reached until May 29, 1953 when Tenzing and Hillary plodded their way to the summit from their high camp at 28,000 feet. It was the ninth British expedition for Mount Everest, led by John Hunt. This was the expedition's camp #9, 1,000 feet from the summit and situated some 2,000 feet higher than today's highest camp for climbers on the same route. Today, climbers set up only 4 camps on the mountain, because Base Camp is positioned much higher than it was in the early days.

Over a period of nearly twenty years, he had made himself a part of every expedition that set out to put a man on the top of Mt. Everest. He had climbed as a lowly porter and as a respected member of the climbing team. He had accompanied large, confident armies (such as the 1936 and 1953 British Everest Expeditions) on their way to the summit, but he had also gone to the mountain with a solitary climber, Earl Denman, in 1947, on the chance that even this might give him an opportunity to get to the top. By 1953, he had probably spent more time on Mt. Everest than any other human being - and had come closer to its summit. Only months before his successful climb with Edmund Hillary, he and Raymond Lambert of the 1952 Swiss expedition, had come within 1,000 feet of the summit -- the highest point that anyone had reached until then. Unlike most of his fellow Sherpas of the time for whom, by and large, climbing was just a challenging way of making a living, Tenzing desperately wanted to get to the summit of Mt. Everest and devoted most of his life to this goal. "For in my heart," he once said, "I needed to go . . . the pull of Everest was stronger for me than any force on earth."

Tenzing's victory over mount Everest was also a symbolic recognisation for the emerging identity a country which has acquired freedom just a few years back after centuries of domination by foreign rulers.

WORLD'S HIGHEST FLYING BIRD

The Bar Headed Goose (Anser indicus) is recorded to have flown to an amazing height of 10175 m (33,382 feet). Thus they can easily cross the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest which has an altitude of 8,848 m (29,028 feet).
This highest flier goose breeds in Central Asia in colonies of thousands near mountain lakes. It lays 3-8 eggs in a ground nest. During summer the bird grazes on short grass near high altitude lakes.
The Bar-headed Goose migrates over the Himalayas to spend the winter in the wetland bound plains of Northern India, Northern Burma and the wetlands of Pakistan. The winter habitat of the Bar-headed Goose is on cultivation, and the bird feeds on barley, rice and wheat. It has a slightly larger wing area for its weight than other geese. It is believed this helps the goose to fly so high.

WORLD'S GREATEST MOUNTAIN RANGE

Himalayas - meaning: Abode of the Snows, is the greatest mountain range of the world. Together, the Himalaya mountain system is the planet's highest and home to the world's highest peaks, including Mount Everest. The Himalayan system has over 100 separate mountains exceeding 7,200 meters. No where on Earth are the mountains as dominant part of the landscape as the mountain range of the The Himalayas. The great mountain barrier is like a natural wall between the Indian subcontinent and the great landmass of Central Asia, which covers a distance of about 2,400 km. The width of the wall varies from 400 km in Kashmir to 150 km in Arunachal Pradesh. It stretches across six nations: Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

It is the source of three of the world's major river systems, the Indus Basin, the Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin and the Yangtze Basin. The Himalayas, being geologically very young, continue to rise at a relatively fast geologic rate. It is said to have risen out due to the collision of the tectonic plate of the Indian subcontinent with the Urasian plate.