Siraj removes Crawley as England reach 50/1 chasing 374 at stumps on Day 3 in 5th Test
London, Aug 2 (PTI): Mohammed Siraj provided the first breakthrough to dismiss Zak Crawley as England reached 50 for one chasing 374 at the close of play on day three in the fifth and final Test, here on Saturday.
Crawley and Duckett had made a sedate start to take England to 50 but Siraj struck on the penultimate ball of the day. Siraj cleaned up Crawley for 14 for India’s first success.
Earlier, India were bowled out for 396 and set a target of 374 with Yashasvi Jaiswal hitting 118, Akash Deep getting his maiden fifty to score 66 and all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar scoring 53 each.
England need another 324 runs to win with two day’s play and eight wickets left, given Chris Woakes will not be able to bat.
Brief scores:
India 224 & 396 lead England 247 & 50/1 in 13.5 overs (Ben Duckett 34 batting; Mohammed Siraj 1/11) by 324 runs.
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Parents fear uncertainty after Karnataka govt rules out age limit relaxation for Class 1 admission
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has ruled out any relaxation of the minimum age limit for admission to Class 1 beginning with the academic year 2026-27. Following the refusal, a group of parents continues to press for leniency.
Parents of children who fall under the age of six by a small margin on the cut-off date have met Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and senior officials from the Department of School Education and Literacy to request an exemption. School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa said that the government will not change its decision, as reported by Deccan Herald.
According to the minister, children must be six years old by June 1 to be eligible for admission to Class 1. beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. He noted that the previous relaxation was a one-time measure that was clearly confined to the 2025-26 academic year.
“If such requests are entertained every year, it will never end. While granting relaxation last year, it was explicitly stated that it applied only to one academic year. From 2026-27 onwards, the rule will be strictly implemented,” Bangarappa was quoted by DH.
Parents argue that the rigid cut-off is affecting children who are short by a few days. One parent was quoted by DH as saying that his daughter would be 12 days short of completing six years on June 1. Such parents would be forced to repeat a year despite being academically ready. Others pointed out that children promoted from LKG to UKG during the 2025-26 academic year are now facing uncertainty over their transition to Class 1.
Few parents also recalled that earlier, admissions were allowed for children aged between five years and 10 months and six years. Parents saw it as a more practical approach, with children born in November and December being disproportionately affected.
The issue of age criterion goes back to a government order issued in July 2022. The order mandated six years as the minimum age for Class 1 admission. Parents of children already enrolled in pre-primary classes, protested against the order and the state deferred implementation, announcing that the rule would come into force from the 2025-26 academic year.
After renewed pressure, the government granted a one-year relaxation for 2025-26, citing the large number of students affected and in consultation with the State Education Policy Commission. While announcing the exemption, the minister had stated that no further concessions would be allowed.
