DID YOU KNOW

The equator, though imaginary, is a line that divides the Earth into two hemispheres — the Northern and the Southern. Several countries lie in both, including Brazil, Indonesia, and Uganda. To split the Earth vertically into the Eastern and Western hemispheres, we refer to the Prime Meridian — which runs through the famous Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London — and the 180th meridian, known as the antimeridian. The area east of the Prime Meridian to the antimeridian is the Eastern Hemisphere, while the rest forms the Western Hemisphere.  Many major nations, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, and France, have territories in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres . But only one country in the world — an oceanic archipelago made up of 32 atolls and one remote coral island scattered across the central Pacific — lies in all four hemispheres: north, south, east, and west. That country is Kiribati .

Until now, there have been 32 instances of triple centuries in Test cricket, achieved by 28 different batters. But only one player has ever scored a 300 with a strike rate above 100—107.91, to be exact. He reached his triple ton in just 278 balls and went on to finish at 319, thrashing a formidable South African attack in Chennai that included Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini, Morne Morkel, and Jacques Kallis. The batter was Virender Sehwag.

In tennis, a Grand Slam refers to the rare and remarkable feat of winning all four major tournaments—the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open— within a single calendar year . However, in everyday usage, each of these major tournaments is also commonly referred to as a Grand Slam tournament . Throughout the history of the sport, only 17 players have accomplished a true Grand Slam. Among them, Australian great Margaret Court stands out—she achieved it three times: twice in mixed doubles and once in women's singles. Another legendary name, Rod Laver , also from Australia, achieved the calendar-year Grand Slam twice in his illustrious career. Beyond the Grand Slam, there is another rare and prestigious milestone in tennis called the “Boxed Set.” This refers to winning all 12 possible major titles across the three disciplines— singles, doubles, and mixed doubles —at least once over the course of a career . (Of course, achieving all 12 in a single calendar ...

Irish novelist Samuel Beckett holds a unique distinction—he is the only first-class cricketer to have later won the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature , which he received in 1969 . Beckett played two first-class matches for Dublin University , managing to score a modest 35 runs across four innings .