Australia wins Ashes series 4-1 with a five-wicket victory in Sydney
Sydney (AP): Australia completed a 4-1 Ashes series victory with a five-wicket win in the fifth and final cricket test on Thursday.
The Australians bowled England out for 342 on the fifth morning of the series finale and were chasing 160 for victory.
Tension grew with a succession of wickets and a contentious DRS review before Alex Carey hit the winning runs to guide the Australians to 161 for five in 31 overs.
Carey finished unbeaten on 16, Cameron Green was unbeaten on 22, and 39-year-old Usman Khawaja was sent into retirement with a victory.
The Australians retained the Ashes with wins in the first three tests, but England was determined to narrow the margin after its drought-breaking win in the Boxing Day match at Melbourne.
Khawaja's kiss goodbye
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The 39-year-old veteran walked to the crease after Steve Smith was bowled by Will Jacks and Australia was 92-3. He was given a guard of honor from the England players lining his way to the pitch, shook hands with Stokes and then gave teammate Marnus Labuschagne a hug.
He got off the mark with a paddled reverse sweep to the boundary and edged another ball between the wicketkeeper and Stokes at first slip for another 2.
Labuschagne had a chance on 20 when he slashed at a short ball from Tongue and was dropped by Bethell. Labuschagne took 16 off the next over, bowled by Jacks to get the chase down to 41.
That's when Khawaja was out — his last innings lasting seven deliveries and netting six runs — when he dragged a delivery from Josh Tongue onto his stumps. He kneeled and kissed the turf in front of a “Thankyou Uzzy” sign that was painted onto the field, and walked back to the pavilion for the last time after 88 test matches.
Labuschagne was then run out for 37 off 40 balls when he drove to mid-off and took off for a single, only to get sent back by Carey.
At that stage, Australia was 121-5 and tension was building until Carey and Green guided the hosts home.
Fifth morning
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England resumed on Day 5 at 302-8, a lead of 119 runs, and was bowled out for 342, a 159-run lead with 2 1/2 sessions remaining.
Mitchell Starc dismissed Jacob Bethell for 154 and Tongue (6) to finish off the England innings and finish the series with 31 wickets at an average of 19.9. The haul of wickets and some important runs earned him the player of the series honors.
The Australians started their second innings quickly, scoring 10 in the first over — including a pair of boundaries from Travis Head, who has scored three centuries in the series.
Head was caught in the deep for 29 and finished with 629 runs across five tests.
After getting a major reprieve on a contentious DRS decision on 16, Jake Weatherald misjudged a short ball from Tongue and his top edge was caught out for 34.
Contentious call
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England's continued bad luck with the decision review system added extra spice to the last day of the series.
England reviewed umpire Ahsan Raza's not out decision to a caught behind appeal when Weatherald wafted at a delivery from Brydon Carse with Australia on 33-0.
DRS technology appeared to show a slight murmur when the ball passed the toe of Weatherald's bat before going through to the wicketkeeper. But TV umpire Kumar Dharmasena deemed there was inconclusive evidence the ball touched the bat.
The England players were stunned, after watching the DRS replays on the stadium screens, and Stokes had to step in to move Carse away from umpire Raza as he demanded an explanation. Stokes calmly approached the umpire, discussed the decision-making process, and got on with the game.
Crowd record
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The total crowd across five days of the fifth test was 211,032, a record for the Sydney Cricket Ground.
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Virudhunagar firecracker unit blast: Toll climbs to 25, Rs 5.5 lakh ex gratia announced
Virudhunagar (Tamil Nadu) (PTI): With most bodies charred beyond recognition, identification remains difficult, police said on Monday, as the toll in the massive explosion at a fireworks unit near Kattanarpatti here rose to 25.
The Virudhunagar district administration has announced Rs 5.5 lakh ex gratia to the kin of deceased.
The accident is one of the deadliest industrial disasters in the region in recent years.
"Bodies were so badly charred that we were able to identify mostly with jewellery that the victims were wearing," a police official told PTI.
He said that the families have not yet claimed the bodies due to the uncertainly in the identities.
The factory owner is absconding, he added.
The accident occurred at the Vanaja firecracker unit, owned by one Muthumanickam, which functions under the Vachakarapatti police station limits.
The unit is reportedly licensed by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), Nagpur.
Post-mortem reports have established that the 25 victims, include 22 women and three men, the police official added.
Eight workers, mostly women, are critically injured with 60 per cent burn injuries. Twelve others, including eight policemen, were injured in a second blast on Sunday evening while rescue operations were underway.
Rescue operations were severely hampered for hours, as unexploded materials continued to detonate.
A second blast at 7.20 pm, triggered as an earthmover was clearing debris, caused chaos and injured several responders, including a revenue official.
Meanwhile, sources said about 1,000 people, including the families of the victims and residents of nearby villages, are threatening a road roko, demanding the arrest of the owner of the factory.
Local eyewitnesses, including Ranganathan from the nearby Seervaikarampatti village, described hearing a massive blast that sent "thick black smoke" into the sky.
"Nothing was recognisable. We saw bodies being loaded four at a time into vehicles," he told PTI Videos.
Many of the deceased were from Seervaikarampatti village, with residents claiming that at least 20 victims belonged to their village.
Among those killed was 46-year-old Indrani, a veteran worker of 25 years.
"My mother was the sole breadwinner. My father is disabled and stays home. I have an MSc degree, but I’m working at a petrol bunk to help out, and we haven't even paid my brother's school fees yet," said Madhubala, Indrani’s daughter, while pleading for government employment assistance.
Virudhunagar Collector N O Sukhaputra confirmed that the unit was operating without permission on a rest day.
Preliminary findings suggest the blast originated in a chemical mixing shed, where nearly 40 workers were busy making crackers, a violation of safety norms that typically limit occupancy to four workers per shed.
"Had these workers followed primary safety norms, the casualties could have been minimal," a senior official stated.
Chief Minister M K Stalin has ordered a high-level probe and directed ministers to oversee relief efforts.
The tragedy follows a similar accident in Vembakottai just days earlier, which claimed four lives, intensifying calls for stricter enforcement of safety regulations in the district’s firecracker hub.
The explosion occurred at approximately 3.15 pm on Sunday. Although the fireworks industry is officially shut on Sundays, over 100 workers were reportedly engaged in production.
Later in the day, Sukhaputra said Rs 5.5 lakh ex gratia each has been finalised for the families of 25 persons killed in the explosion.
Speaking to PTI Videos, he said the ex gratia cheques are ready for immediate distribution to the legal heirs.
"Out of 25 deaths, we have finished conducting post-mortems on 22 bodies. Already we have cheques (that) are ready,” Sukhaputra said.
The announcement followed intense demands from grieving relatives for financial security and government employment.
