England''s improbable task: Can it chase down 435 to keep Ashes hopes alive?
Adelaide (AP): Ben Stokes and his England bowling attack did everything possible Saturday morning to keep the Ashes series alive, taking six Australian wickets for 78 runs and setting up a target of 435 to win the third cricket test.
It would take a world-record chase to win at the Adelaide Oval, but with a relatively flat wicket and five sessions remaining it wasn't entirely out of the question.
It didn't start well for England, with Australia skipper Pat Cummins taking a wicket with his second ball to remove Ben Duckett (4).
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At lunch on Day 4, England was 5-1 and needed 430 for an unlikely victory. Australia needed nine wickets to clinch the series with two tests to spare.
After losing the first two tests in Perth and Brisbane, England needs a victory to keep the five-match series alive. Australia needs only a draw to retain the Ashes.
Still, for England, it's a far better equation than it appeared at stumps on Day 3, when Australia reached 271-4 in its second innings, a lead of 356, with Travis Head unbeaten on 142 and Alex Carey on 52.
The Australians, already with a 2-0 series lead and needing only a draw in Adelaide to retain the Ashes, were all out for 349, a lead of 434. Travis Head's dismissal for 170 triggered a lower-order collapse, with the last six wickets falling for 38 in 11 overs.
The record test run chase was West Indies' 418 in a three-wicket win over Australia at Antigua in 2003.
England has successfully chased 370-plus targets twice to win against India in the last three years.
England's rallyMomentum was all Australia's way initially, even to the point of getting an extra run when a fielder's throw at the non-striker's end deflected and rolled away to allow the batters to return for 2.
Head raised his 150 soon after, and gave a very brisk wave ot the bat to acknowledge it.
His 219-run innings came when he pulled a short ball from Josh Tongue (4-70) high and deep into the outfield where Zak Crawley took a catch looking into the sun at deep mid-wicket.
The end of the 162-run fifth-wicket stand had Australia at 311-5 in the eighth over of Day 4.
Carey took the lead to 400 with a cut boundary off Stokes, leaving the England skipper grimacing and shaking his head.
Josh Inglis got a reprieve on 3 when he was adjudged lbw to Stokes but immediately reviewed and had the decision overturned. At that stage, Australia led by 409.
Stokes made a momentum-swinging breakthrough when he had Carey out for 72, tucking a short ball around the corner and caught at leg slip.
Brydon Carse (3-80) was on a hat-trick when he had Cummins (6) caught behind, stretching to swat a wider ball, and trapped Nathan Lyon lbw on the next ball.
No. 11 Scott Boland left a wide ball to deny England its first Ashes hat-trick since 1999, but he was out soon after when Jofra Archer (1-20) had him fending away a short ball and offering a return catch.
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Kannur dental student death: Case registered against loan app operators, parents allege murder
Kannur (PTI): A case has been registered against unidentified loan app operators in connection with the death of a Kannur Dental College student in Anjarakandy, officials said on Monday.
However, the victim’s parents alleged that their son was murdered and held the college faculty responsible for his death.
The Kannur Cyber Police registered the case on Sunday night based on a complaint by an assistant professor of the college.
According to police, Nithin Raj R L, a first-year BDS student, had taken a loan through an online loan app.
After he defaulted on repayment, the app operators allegedly began contacting the assistant professor.
The FIR stated that the accused contacted the woman faculty member via MMS and WhatsApp, threatening her over repayment and attempting to siphon off money illegally.
Sources said that in cases of default, such loan app operators often send messages to all available contacts of the borrower.
Raj (22), a native of Uzhamalackal, Puthukulangara in Thiruvananthapuram district, was found critically injured near the medical college block after falling from a building on April 10 and later succumbed to his injuries.
The family alleged that Raj was subjected to emotional harassment on caste and complexion grounds by two faculty members, following which a case was registered against Dental Anatomy Department Head M K Ram and Associate Professor K T Sangeetha Nambiar for abetment of suicide and under provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Even though notices were issued to both accused to appear for interrogation, they are yet to respond to the police, officials said.
Police officials said the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case is also examining whether Raj’s death was linked to threats from the loan app operators.
The cyber case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Sections 351(2) (criminal intimidation) and 308(3) (extortion), along with Section 66D of the Information Technology Act (cheating by personation using computer resources).
Police said Raj’s mobile phone will be examined to gather details about the loan app, and a detailed statement will be recorded from the assistant professor who received the threatening messages and calls.
Meanwhile, the SIT has recovered chat details from Raj’s phone, which indicate that he had sought more time to repay the loan.
According to police, Raj had taken a loan of Rs 14,000, and the app operators had demanded immediate repayment of Rs 8,000.
As his family was facing financial difficulties, he had requested a few weeks’ time to settle the dues.
The SIT, led by the Station House Officer of Chakkarakkallu police station, visited Raj’s house on Monday and recorded statements of his parents and sister.
The four-member team also collected digital evidence from them.
The family also met the State Police Chief Ravada Chandrasekhar and filed a petition seeking a detailed probe into the incident.
Raj’s father Rajan said his son had taken the loan for his mother’s treatment.
“We were repaying it. But recently, the repayment defaulted. If the teacher was aggrieved by the loan app’s calls and my son had done anything wrong, they should have informed us. You can check my phone, there is no call from the college,” he said.
Rajan said he had little hope of getting justice.
“They all killed my son. What justice can I expect? I worked hard for his education. We lost everything,” he said.
He also alleged that even three days after Raj’s death, there had been no communication from the college authorities.
“He was a student of that college. Not even a word from the authorities. Students there, fearing for their future, are not speaking out. At least one student should speak out for us,” he said.
Meanwhile, protests erupted at Kannur Dental College on Monday, with final-year BDS students also joining the agitation.
The college has granted leave to students of other batches following the incident.
Students alleged that the accused faculty member, M K Ram, misbehaved with students by body-shaming and physical assault.
“We were living under severe pressure. Ram was involved in body-shaming. Verbal abuse was frequent. Apart from it, he used to hit students on the head. There were also complaints against him and disciplinary action taken earlier,” a student told reporters.
Political organisations, including KSU of the Congress, SFI and DYFI of the CPI(M), MSF of the IUML and ABVP of the BJP, carried out protest marches.
KSU and SFI activists who entered the college compound were later detained and removed by police.
Kerala SC/ST Commission Chairperson Shekaran Miniyodan visited Raj’s house and interacted with his family.
He said the Commission has registered a case and sought a report from the police.
“We will collect information along with the SIT about the incident. Apart from the preliminary investigation report, we will also examine the postmortem report,” he said.
Similarly, the Kerala Youth Commission has also registered a case and recorded statements of students of the college.
Commission Chairman M Shajar said students have raised serious allegations against M K Ram and that a detailed probe would be conducted with police support.
Earlier, the Kerala State Human Rights Commission had also registered a case and sought a report from the police.
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