LISTEN: Full script of Episode 79 of Spodcast where we discuss India at the Women's T20 World Cup, Manchester City and more

Welcome to Spodcast, the sports update on Firstpost. India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan in the 2018 Women’s T20 World Cup on Sunday by seven wickets. Pakistan scored 133/7 in their 20 overs, as Bismah Maroof top scored with 53 runs from 49 balls. Nida Dar also scored a half-century, making 52 in 35 balls. The rest of the batting line-up managed to add only 24 runs between them. To add to their troubles, Pakistan were docked 10 runs as a penalty for running on the danger area of the pitch during their batting. Pakistan captain Javeria Khan said, “They told me that after warning the players three times, they gave the penalties. It’s unprofessional on our part because we were warned. It’s not happened (for) the first time. It’s happened in Sri Lanka as well.” India’s openers Mithali Raj and Smriti Mandhana got off to a steady start, adding 73 runs before the first wicket fell in the 10th over. Mithali top scored with 56 from 47 balls, falling in the 18th over with the score at 126. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur saw the team home as India won by seven wickets and an over to spare. In men’s cricket, India defeated the West Indies to finish a 3-0 sweep of the T20 series. Carlos Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bat on the spin-friendly Chennai pitch. Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer slammed India’s bowlers to all parts of the park. By the time Hope fell in the seventh over, they had added 51 runs for the first wicket. Hetmyer fell 11 runs later but Darren Bravo and Denesh Ramdin stabilised the score, taking the Windies to 94 before Ramdin was bowled by Washington Sundar. 23-year-old Nicholas Pooran walked in to slam 53 from just 25 balls, including four sixes. Bravo made 43 from 37 balls, as West Indies posted an impressive 181/3 in 20 overs. Krunal Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar bore the brunt of the fury, finishing with economy rates of 10 and 9.75 respectively. In reply, India’s batting machine performed as expected, winning the match but reaching the target on the final ball. Shikhar Dhawan top scored with 92 from 62 balls, including 10 boundaries and two sixes. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul fell cheaply but Rishabh Pant stepped up to score 58 from 38 balls. The partnership between Dhawan and Pant yielded 130 runs in 13 overs. Dhawan was declared the Man of the Match. Football news now. First from LaLiga. Barcelona suffered a home defeat for the first time in over two years as Real Betis pulled off a surprise 4-3 win at Camp Nou on Sunday. Lionel Messi was back in the team, scoring twice. After missing five matches due to injury, Messi imposed himself on the match, scoring one goal off a penalty kick and another during injury-time. However, Betis seemed the more motivated team on the night, running faster and passing quicker and sharper. Junior Firpo netted their first goal 20 minutes into the match. Joaquin followed that up with a goal in the 34th minute to make it 2-0 before Barca could even mount a serious challenge. Barcelona dominated ball possession for a while, and, in the 68th minute, Jordi Alba was pulled down by Tello. A penalty was awarded to Barca, and Messi converted it for his eighth goal this season. However, there was to be no respite. Three minutes later, Giovani Lo Celso scored a third goal for Real Betis. Barcelona fought back to make it 3-2 in the 79th minute as Arturo Vidal found the Betis net. But that hurrah was short-lived as Ivan Rakitic was red-carded in the 81st minute for a late challenge on Lo Celso. Two minutes later, Sergio Canales scored the fourth goal for the visitors, pretty much putting the game out of Barca’s reach. A late flourish from Messi in the 92nd minute made it 4-3 but Betis held on to win the match. In EPL news, Manchester City returned to the top of the table with a 3-1 win over Manchester United in Sunday’s derby. City now have a 12-point lead over Manchester United just 12 games into the current season. City, who are in red-hot form, opened their account just 12 minutes into the game, with David Silva scoring off a Bernard Silva pass. It was then half an hour of the two neighbours holding each other at bay until half time. The impasse was finally broken in the 48th minute when Sergio Aguero played a one-two with Riyad Mahrez and blasted past De Gea to net the ball. He is now the EPL’s top scorer of the season with eight goals. However, United were handed a penalty when Romelu Lukaku was tripped by Ederson. Anthony Martial deposited the ball coolly into the City goal to make it 2-1. That scoreline held for 28 minutes until a 44-pass move — which dragged United all over the pitch — ended with a goal by Illkay Gundogan. Following this win, Manchester City are first on the points table, and lead Liverpool by two points. United are in eighth place. In Formula One news, Lewis Hamilton won the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday to clinch the constructors’ title for Mercedes. This is the fifth consecutive constructor’s championship for Mercedes in five years. Newly-crowned 2018 champion Hamilton won his 10th race of the year to take his career wins to 72. Max Verstappen collided with Esteban Ocon’s Force India on lap 44 as Ocon tried to unlap himself in the race. Ocon was penalised by the stewards with a 10-second stop-go penalty. An upset Verstappen said after the race, “I don’t know what to say. I was taken out by an idiot — I have no words.” Verstappen finished 1.4 seconds behind Hamilton in second place. Kimi Raikkonen finished third.